


Madness

by Send_help_im_drowning



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 13:32:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 104,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17407826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Send_help_im_drowning/pseuds/Send_help_im_drowning
Summary: Theodora is one of the sanest children Lyssa, the Ancient Greek Goddess of madness and fear, has ever had. When three new demigods appear at Camp Half-Blood, brought by Dor's best friend Annabeth, things get even crazier than they were in the Second Titan War.





	1. Chapter 1

**JASON**

Annabeth and I exited the Hypnos cabin. Her head snapped up in realization and she turned to me.

"I think we should pay cabin 21 a visit - my friend's the only inhabitant, but she's powerful. She might be able to give us some clues." "Wait, what god's cabin is that?" I looked around at the different cabins.

"Goddess, and it's over there. My friend's is the only current child of Lyssa, she's one of those gods and goddesses that's a personification of an emotion, madness in this case." I frowned and followed her gaze. The cabin somehow looked scarier than the Ares cabin. It was pure black, with almost no decoration, and it radiated an energy I couldn't place. Annabeth opened the door and walked in with me right behind her.

"Dor? It's Annabeth, I need your help." I couldn't see anyone, but the cabin looked much larger from inside than it had seemed to be walking up to it. Suddenly, a petit girl with white hair jumped out of the shadows behind us onto Annabeth's back. This was the first time I'd heard Annabeth genuinely laugh as she spun a few quick circles with her arms linked underneath the legs of the girl. She set her down and turned around.

"Hey Annie, long time no see. Who's this?" The girl turned to me, and I couldn't help but stare at her strange appearance. She was small, the top of her head probably just reached my chin. Her skin was very pale and she was extremely thin. Her cheekbones were high and prominent and she had bags under her eyes. And her eyes were the strangest part: they weren't that much bigger than most eyes, but her huge irises made them seem very enlarged, and they were such a deep black I couldn't tell where the pupil ended.

I snapped out of my thoughts and realized I was being very rude. "I'm Jason." She nodded. "Well, nice to meet you, Jason. I'm Theodora. So, Annie, what did you need my help with?" "Jason has lost his memory, and we've just been at cabin 15 - Clovis confirmed Hera stole them. I was hoping that, since we don't know who he is, you could at least try to figure out what kind of person he is. Who knows, maybe you'll even find some clues." "Can someone tell me what's happening?" They turned to me, as if they'd forgotten I was even there.

"I have some strange powers, Jason, the same most children of Lyssa have, according to Chiron. I just got lucky enough to be at the level of sanity required to harness them. For now, I'm going to use some basic stuff: I'm going to try to see how you handle fury and fear, where you stand in the spectrum of sanity and insanity, and I might, if you allow me to, attempt to see your greatest fears, regrets and trauma's." I felt my eyes widen a little as she spoke. I tore my eyes away from her haunting, yet somehow entrancing, face to look at Annabeth, who smiled encouragingly.

"You might want to sit down for this, seeing as I don't know how your lack of memories will react to my powers." Theodora sat down on the floor as she finished speaking. I followed her lead, though I was a little hesitant. Annabeth sat down next to us. Theodora held out her hand. "Physical contact makes it easier, and we might need any help we can get in doing this." I placed my hand in her colder one. Her long, bony fingers wrapped around it. I could see chips of black on her short nails. I could feel the metal of a ring on my skin where her thumb touched my hand. I looked at her face to see her eyes were closed with concentration.

"I can barely sense anything. There's not just a mental block, there's emotional walls up to Olympus. I think you felt like you couldn't show any emotions, like it was a weakness. Perhaps, with time, I could see more, but I can't. I'm really sorry." She opened her eyes and I could see her frustration. She let my hand go and I felt an unexpected twinge of disappointment.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**PIPER**

The whole campfire idea secretly freaked me out. It kind of made me think of that huge purple bonfire in my dreams, and my father tied to a stake.

What I got instead was almost as terrifying: a sing-along. The amphitheatre steps were carved into the side of a hill, facing a stone-lined fire pit. Fifty or sixty kids filled the rows, clustered into groups under various banners.

I spotted Jason in the front, between Annabeth and a tiny pale girl with white hair. Leo was nearby, sitting with a bunch of burly-looking campers under a steel grey banner emblazoned with a hammer. Standing in front of the fire, half a dozen campers with guitars and strange, old-fashioned harps - lyres? - were jumping around, leading a song about pieces of armour, something about how their grandma got dressed for war. Everybody was singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armour and joking around. It was quite possibly the weirdest thing I'd ever seen - one of those campfire songs that would've been completely embarrassing in daylight, but in the dark, with everybody participating, it was kind of corny and fun. As the energy level got higher, the flames did, too, turning from red to orange to gold.

Finally the song ended with a lot of rowdy applause. A guy on a horse trotted up. At least in the flickering light, I  _thought_ it was a guy on a horse. The I realized it was a centaur - his bottom half a white stallion, his top half a middle-aged guy with curly hair and a trimmed beard. He brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows. "Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first-"

"What about capture the flag?" somebody yelled. Grumbling broke out among some kids in armour, sitting underneath a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head.

"Yes," the centaur said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" one of them shouted.

"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"

He turned to Leo's group. Leo winked at me and shot me with a finger gun. The girl next to him stood uncomfortably. She wore an army jacker a lot like Leo's, with her hair covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it."

More grumbling.

"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid grumbled.

"Really hard." the girl said.

Nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones -  _bang_ , _bang_ , _bang_ \- and the campers fell silent.

"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"Percy?" some asked. The fire dimmed even further, but I didn't need the mood flames to sense the crowd's anxiety. The small girl next to Jason leaned over him to touch Annabeth's hand, who looked a little relieved at the gesture. It kind of bothered me that Jason didn't seem to be uncomfortable with the girl practically lying in his lap, but I reminded myself that I only really knew the version of him that the Mist made me remember.

Chiron gestured to Annabeth, who gave the other girl a small smile, took a deep breath and stood.

"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis -  everyone's out looking. We  _will_ find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."

"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.

Everyone turned. The voice had come from a group in the back, sitting under a rose-coloured banner with a dove emblem. They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.

Everyone else looked surprised. Apparently Drew didn't address the crowd very often.

"Drew?" Annabeth said. "What do you mean?"

"Well,  _come on_." Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "Olympus os closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"

I whispered to Rachel, "What's she talking about - The Great Prophecy?"

Then I realized everyone else was looking at Rachel, too.

"Well?" Drew called down. "You're the Oracle. Has it started or not?"

Rachel's eyes looked scary in the firelight. I was a little afraid she might clench up and start channeling a freaky peacock goddess again, but she stepped forward calmly and addressed the camp.

"Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy has begun."

Pandemonium broke out. I caught Jason's eye. He mouthed,  _you all right?_ I nodded and managed a smile, but then I looked away. It was too painful seeing him and not being with him.

When the talking finally subsided, Rachel took another step towards the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redheaded mortal was more intimidating than all of them put together. The only one who leaned forward, seemingly in interest, was that weird girl again.

"For those of you who have not heard it," Rachel said, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:

' _Eight half-bloods must answer the call._

_To storm or fire the world must fall-_

Jason shot to his feet. His eyes looked wild, like he'd just been tasered.

Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. "J-Jason?" she said. "What's-"

" _Ut spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus_ ," he chanted. " _Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem_."

An uneasy silence settled on the group. I could see from their faces that several of them were trying to translate the lines. I could tell it was in Latin, but wasn't sure why my hopefully future boyfriend was suddenly chanting like a Catholic priest.

"You just... finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered. "- _An oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bear arms to the doors of death_. How did you-"

"I know those lines. Jason winced and put his head into his hands. "I don't know how, but I  _know_ that prophecy."

"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome  _and_ smart."

There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin. God, what a bunch of losers, I thought. But it didn't do much to break the tension. The campfire was burning a chaotic, nervous shade of green.

Jason sat down, looking embarrassed, but the girl put a hand on his shoulder and muttered something to him. He seemed a little relieved, and I couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealousy. It should've been  _me_ next to him, comforting him.

Rachel Dare still looked a little shaken. She glanced back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a play he couldn't interrupt - a tragedy that ended with a lot of dead people onstage.


	3. Chapter 3

"Well," Rachel said, trying to regain her composure. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And, like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The eight demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."

The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd called out, "I'm here! Oh... were you calling roll?"

"Go back to sleep, Clovis," someone yelled, and a lot of people laughed.

"Anyway," Rachel continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the  _first_ Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the  _second_  Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."

"Or worse," Chiron murmured.

Maybe he didn't mean everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple, the same colour as my dream.

“What we do know,” Rachel said, “is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken.”  
  
Shocked silence. Then fifty demigods started talking at once.  
  
Chiron pounded his hoof again, but Rachel still had to wait before she could get back their attention.  
  
She told them about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk—how Gleeson Hedge had sacrificed himself when the storm spirits attacked, and the spirits had warned it was only the beginning. They apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigods.  
  
Then Rachel told them about my passing out in Hera’s cabin. I tried to keep a calm expression, even when I noticed Drew in the back row, pantomiming a faint, and her friends giggling. Finally Rachel told them about Jason’s vision in the living room of the Big House. The message Hera had delivered there was so similar that I got a chill. The only difference: Hera had warned me not to betray her: Bow to his will, and their king shall rise, dooming us all. Hera knew about the giant’s threat. But if that was true, why hadn’t she warned Jason, and exposed me as an enemy agent?  
  
“Jason,” Rachel said. “Um … do you remember your last name?”  
  
He looked self-conscious, but he shook his head.  
  
“We’ll just call you Jason, then,” Rachel said. “It’s clear Hera herself has issued you a quest.”  
  
Rachel paused, as if giving Jason a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone’s eyes were on him; there was so much pressure, I thought I would’ve buckled in his position. Yet he looked brave and determined. He set his jaw and nodded. “I agree.”  
  
“You must save Hera to prevent a great evil,” Rachel continued. “Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don’t yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now.”  
  
“That’s the council day of the gods,” Annabeth said. “If the gods don’t already know Hera’s gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They’ll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That’s what they usually do.”  
  
“The winter solstice,” Chiron spoke up, “is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things … stir.”  
  
The way he said it, stirring sounded absolutely sinister - like it should be a first-degree felony, not something you did to cookie dough.  
  
“Okay,” Annabeth said, glaring at the centaur. “Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever’s going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so-”  
  
“Why hasn’t he been claimed?” somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. “If he’s so important-”  
  
“He has been claimed,” Chiron announced. “Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration.”  
  
At first, Jason didn’t seem to understand. He stepped forward nervously, but I couldn’t help thinking how amazing he looked with his blond hair glowing in the firelight, his regal features like a Roman statue’s. He glanced at the girl, and she nodded encouragingly. When he looked at me, I mimicked flipping a coin.  
  
Jason reached into his pocket. His coin flashed in the air, and when he caught it in his hand, he was holding a lance—a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end.  
  
The other demigods gasped. Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point, which looked sharp as an ice pick.  
  
“Wasn’t that...” Annabeth hesitated. “I thought you had a sword.”  
  
“Um, it came up tails, I think,” Jason said. “Same coin, long-range weapon form.”  
  
“Dude, I want one!” yelled somebody from Ares cabin.  
  
“Better than Clarisse’s electric spear, Lamer!” one of his brothers agreed.  
  
“Electric,” Jason murmured, like that was a good idea. “Back away.”  
  
Annabeth and Rachel got the message. Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Every hair on my arms stood straight up. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.  
  
When the smoke cleared, and the ringing in my ears subsided, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been. Cinders rained down everywhere. The small girl shook ash out of her hair. A burning log had impaled itself a few inches from the sleeping kid Clovis, who hadn’t even stirred.  
  
Jason lowered his lance. “Um... sorry.”  
  
Chiron brushed some burning coals out of his beard. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. “A little overkill, perhaps, but you’ve made your point. And I believe we know who your father is.”  
  
“Jupiter,” Jason said. “I mean Zeus. Lord of the Sky.”  
  
I couldn’t help smiling. It made perfect sense. The most powerful god, the father of all the greatest heroes in the ancient myths - no one else could possibly be Jason’s dad.

Apparently, the rest of the camp wasn’t so sure. Everything broke into chaos, with dozens of people asking questions until Annabeth raised her arms.  
  
“Hold it!” she said. “How can he be the son of Zeus? The Big Three... their pact not to have mortal kids... how could we not have known about him sooner?”  
  
Chiron didn’t answer, but I got the feeling he knew. And the truth was not good.  
  
“The important thing,” Rachel said, “is that Jason’s here now. He has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy.”  
  
She closed her eyes and swooned. Two campers rushed forward and caught her. The small girl ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stool, like they’d all been trained for this duty. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but green mist started swirling around Rachel’s feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient—the sound a snake would make if it could talk:

" _Child of lightning_ ,  _beware the earth_ ,

 _The giants_ ’  _revenge the seven shall birth_ ,

 _Fear_ ,  _fire and love shall break the cage_ ,

 _And death unleash through Hera’s rage_."

On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. They carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.  
  
“Is that normal?” I asked. Then I realized I'd spoken into the silence, and everyone was looking at me. “I mean… does she spew green smoke a lot?”  
  
“Gods, you’re dense!” Drew sneered. “She just issued a prophecy—Jason’s prophecy to save Hera! Why don’t you just—”  
  
“Drew,” Annabeth snapped. “Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy _definitely_ isn’t normal. If breaking Hera’s cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death … why would we free her? It might be a trap, or—or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She’s never been kind to heroes.”  
  
Jason rose. “I don’t have much choice. Hera took my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can’t just not help the queen of the heavens if she’s in trouble.”  
  
A girl from Hephaestus cabin stood up—Nyssa, the one with the red bandanna. “Maybe. But you should listen to Annabeth. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son—our dad—down a mountain just because he was ugly.”  
  
“Real ugly,” snickered someone from Aphrodite.  
  
“Shut up!” Nyssa growled. “Anyway, we’ve also got to think —why beware the earth? And what’s the giants’ revenge? What are we dealing with here that’s powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?”  
  
No one answered, but Piper noticed Annabeth and Chiron having a silent exchange. I thought it went something like:  
  
Annabeth: _The giants’ revenge... no, it can’t be._  
  
Chiron: _Don’t speak of it here. Don’t scare them._  
  
Annabeth: _You’re kidding me! We can’t be that unlucky._  
  
Chiron: _Later, child. If you told them everything, they would be too terrified to proceed._  
  
I knew it was crazy to think I could read their expressions so well—two people I barely knew. But I was absolutely positive I understood them, and it scared the jujubes out of me.  
  
Annabeth took a deep breath. “It’s Jason’s quest,” she announced, “so it’s Jason’s choice. Obviously, he’s the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose two companions, but it seems that this particular prophecy calls for three.”  
  
Someone from the Hermes cabin yelled, “Well, you, obviously, Annabeth. You’ve got the most experience.”  
  
“No, Travis,” Annabeth said. “First off, I’m not helping Hera. Every time I’ve tried, she’s deceived me, or it’s come back to bite me later. Forget it. No way. Secondly, I’m leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy.”  
  
“It’s connected,” I blurted out, not sure how I got the courage. “You know that’s true, don’t you? This whole business, your boyfriend’s disappearance—it’s all connected.”  
  
“How?” demanded Drew. “If you’re so smart, how?”  
  
I tried to form an answer, but I couldn’t.  
  
Annabeth saved me. “You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I’ll find out from the other end—by searching for Percy. As I said, I’m not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there’s another reason I can’t go. The prophecy says otherwise.”  
  
“It says who I pick,” Jason agreed. “ _Fear, fire and love shall break the cage_. Fire is the symbol of Vul—Hephaestus.”  
  
Under the Cabin Nine banner, Nyssa’s shoulders slumped, like she’d just been given a heavy anvil to carry. “If you have to beware the earth,” she said, “you should avoid traveling overland. You’ll need air transport.”  
  
I was about to call out that Jason could fly. But then I thought better of it. That was for Jason to tell them, and he wasn’t volunteering the information. Maybe he figured he’d freaked them out enough for one night.  
  
“The flying chariot’s broken,” Nyssa continued, “and the pegasi, we’re using them to search for Percy. But maybe Hephaestus cabin can help figure out something else to help. With Jake incapacitated, I’m senior camper. I can volunteer for the quest.”  
  
She didn’t sound enthusiastic.  
  
Then Leo stood up. He’d been so quiet, Piper had almost forgotten he was there, which was totally not like Leo.  
  
“It’s me,” he said.  
  
His cabinmates stirred. Several tried to pull him back to his seat, but Leo resisted.  
  
“No, it’s me. I know it is. I’ve got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!”  
  
Jason studied him for a moment. I was sure he was going to tell Leo no. Then he smiled. “We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you’re in.”  
  
“Yes!” Leo pumped his fist.  
  
“It’ll be dangerous,” Nyssa warned him. “Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive.”  
  
“Oh.” Suddenly Leo didn’t look so excited. Then he remembered everyone was watching. “I mean … Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let’s do this.”  
  
Annabeth nodded. “Then, Jason, you only need to choose the third quest member. Love-”  
  
“Oh, absolutely!” Drew was on her feet and flashing Jason a smile. “Love is Aphrodite. Everybody knows that. I am totally yours.”  
  
My hands clenched. I stepped forward. “No.”  
  
Drew rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, Dumpster girl. Back off.”  
  
“I had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this.”  
  
“Anyone can have a vision,” Drew said. “You were just at the right place at the right time.” She turned to Jason. “Look, fighting is all fine, I suppose. And people who build things …” She looked at Leo in disdain. “Well, I suppose someone has to get their hands dirty. But you need charm on your side. I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot.”  
  
The campers started murmuring about how Drew was pretty persuasive. I could see Drew winning them over. Even Chiron was scratching his beard, like Drew’s participation suddenly made sense to him.  
  
“Well …” Annabeth said. “Given the wording of the prophecy—”  
  
“No!” my own voice sounded strange in my ears—more insistent, richer in tone. “I’m supposed to go.”  
  
Then the weirdest thing happened. Everyone started nodding, muttering that hmm, my point of view made sense too. Drew looked around, incredulous. Even some of her own campers were nodding.  
  
“Get over it!” Drew snapped at the crowd. “What can Piper do?”  
  
I tried to respond, but my confidence started to wane. What could I offer? I wasn’t a fighter, or a planner, or a fixer. I had no skills except getting into trouble and occasionally convincing people to do stupid things.  
  
Plus, I was a liar. I needed to go on this quest for reasons that went way beyond Jason—and if I did go, I'd end up betraying everyone there. I heard that voice from the dream: Do our bidding, and you may walk away alive. How could I make a choice like that—between helping my father and helping Jason?  
  
“Well,” Drew said smugly, “I guess that settles it.”  
  
Suddenly there was collective gasp. Everyone stared at me like she’d just exploded. I wondered what she’d done wrong. Then I realized there was a reddish glow around me.  
  
“What?” I demanded.  
  
I looked above my head, but there was no burning symbol like the one that appeared over Leo. Then I looked down and yelped.  
  
My clothes... what in the world was I wearing? I despised dresses. I didn’t own a dress. But now I was adorned in a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to my ankles, with a V-neck so low it was totally embarrassing. Delicate gold armbands circled my biceps. An intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on my chest, and my hair …  
  
“Oh, god,” I said. “What’s happened?”  
  
A stunned Annabeth pointed at my dagger, which was now oiled and gleaming, hanging at my side on a golden cord. I didn’t want to draw it. I was afraid of what I would see. But my curiosity won out. I unsheathed Katoptris and stared at my reflection in the polished metal blade. my hair was perfect: lush and long and chocolate brown, braided with gold ribbons down one side so it fell across my shoulder. I even wore makeup, better than I would ever know how to do myself—subtle touches that made my lips cherry red and brought out all the different colors in my eyes.  
  
I was... I was...  
  
“Beautiful,” Jason exclaimed. “Piper, you … you’re a knockout.”  
  
Under different circumstances, that would’ve been the happiest moment of my life. But now everyone was staring at me like she was a freak. Drew’s face was full of horror and revulsion. “No!” she cried. “Not possible!”  
  
“This isn’t me,” I protested. “I—don’t understand.”  
  
Chiron the centaur folded his front legs and bowed to her, and all the campers followed his example.  
  
“Hail, Piper McLean,” Chiron announced gravely, as if he were speaking at my funeral. “Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love.”


	4. Chapter 4

**JASON**

I will admit, I was a little embarrassed I'd blurted out how beautiful Piper looked after Aphrodite zapped her. She looked mortified herself, I felt kind of bad for her. New dress, new makeup, glowing pink aura, and  _boom_ : suddenly people liked her. I felt like I understood that.

"Right," Annabeth said, breaking the silence. "That leaves fear." She looked at Theodora, who nodded at her before looking at me.

"Theodora?" I looked her straight into her intriguing eyes. "Well, someone has to keep you all from dying, right?" She cracked a small smile as she spoke.

* * * * *

After the campfire, I went up to Piper and formally asked her to come with me on the quest. She nodded, and rubbed her sleeveless arms. She must've been freezing.

"Aphrodite took my snowboarding jacket," she muttered. "Mugged by my own mom."

Theodora came over with a blanket and handed it over to me. I wrapped it around Piper's shoulders.

"Hi, I'm Theodora. You can call me Dor thought, most people do." "I'm Piper. I don't have any cool nicknames, so... yeah." "We'll figure something out." They both cracked a smile.

"Who's your godly parent?" "Lyssa, goddess of madness, fear and rabies. Don't know how that's supposed to help me break a cage, but alright." Piper giggled a little.

Annabeth came over to tell us we should get as much rest as possible before the quest. She then linked her arm through Theodora's and they walked off towards Rachel to check on her. Piper left to go to her cabin and, seeing as I couldn't see Leo anywhere, I went to Cabin 1.


	5. Chapter 5

**THEODORA**

I rushed around my cabin, packing extra weapons and supplies. Annabeth had dropped by earlier to give me some nectar and ambrosia, undoubtedly something we'd need a lot of in the quest. Just as I finished packing, I heard a conch horn. I grabbed my charm bracelet - a gift from my mother, the charms she'd put on it are secretly Stygian Iron throwing knives that return to the bracelet once I summon them back - and threw on my backpack. I ran out of the cabin and looked around before spotting the giant bronze dragon.

I finished putting my bracelet on and looked at the small figure waving at me - was that Leo?!

Sure enough, there he was, sitting atop a giant bronze death machine and grinning like a lunatic. All the satyrs around him were screaming, “Don’t kill me!” Half the camp was running outside in a mixture of pajamas and armor. The dragon set down right in the middle of the green, and Leo yelled, “It’s cool! Don’t shoot!”  
  
Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin doors or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close.  
  
I couldn’t blame them. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture - different shades of copper and bronze - a sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.  
  
“It’s beautiful,” Piper and I both muttered. We shot each other a grin, but the other campers looked at us like we were crazy.  
  
The dragon reared its head and shot a column of fire into the sky. Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon’s back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.

I stepped forward and raised a single eyebrow at him.  
  
“People of Earth, I come in peace!” he shouted. He looked like he’d been rolling around in the campfire. His army coat and his face were smeared with soot. His hands were grease-stained, and he wore a new tool belt around his waist. His eyes were bloodshot. His curly hair was so oily it stuck up in porcupine quills, and he smelled strangely of Tabasco sauce. But he looked absolutely delighted. “Festus is just saying hello!”  
  
“That thing is dangerous!” an Ares girl shouted, brandishing her spear. “Kill it now!”  
  
“Stand down!” someone ordered.  
  
It was Jason. He pushed through the crowd, flanked by Annabeth and that girl from the Hephaestus cabin, Nyssa.  
  
Jason gazed up at the dragon and shook his head in amazement. “Leo, what have you done?”  
  
“Found a ride!” Leo beamed. “You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!”  
  
“It-has wings,” Nyssa stammered. Her jaw looked like it might drop off her face.  
  
“Yeah!” Leo said. “I found them and reattached them.”  
  
“But it never had wings. Where did you find them?”  
  
Leo hesitated, and I could tell he was hiding something.  
  
“In... the woods,” he said. “Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire.”  
  
“Mostly?” Nyssa asked.  
  
The dragon’s head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of black liquid - maybe oil, hopefully just oil - poured out of its ear, all over Leo.  
  
“Just a few kinks to work out,” Leo said.  
  
“But how did you survive...?” Nyssa was still staring at the creature in awe. “I mean, the fire breath...”  
  
“I’m quick,” Leo said. “And lucky. Now, am I on this quest, or what?”  
  
Jason scratched his head. “You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?”  
  
The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings.  
  
“That’s a yes, bro!” Leo said. “Now, um, I’d really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the - um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous.”  
  
Jason frowned. “But we haven’t planned anything yet. We can’t just-”  
  
“Go,” Annabeth said. She was the only one who didn’t look nervous at all. Her expression was sad and wistful, like this reminded her of better times -  I'll admit, I was feeling nostalgic too. “Jason, you’ve only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!”  
  
Jason nodded. Then he smiled at me and Piper. “You ready, partners?”  
  
Piper looked at the bronze dragon wings shining against the sky, and those talons that could’ve shredded her to pieces.  
  
“You bet,” she said before she climbed on. Leo followed her lead, going to sit in front of her.

I gave Annabeth a quick hug.

"Come back to me alive, will you?" I could tell she was a little nervous about my safety, but I winked at her and climbed on top of the dragon  -  I might be tiny, but I used to do relatively professional gymnastics, which, combined with fighting monsters, makes me a strong girl. I held out my hand to Jason, which he took. I pulled him up and he sat behind me. I closed my eyes and exhaled. I had not been on a quest since the Labyrinth, but I had confidence in my partners.

The dragon took off, and I allowed myself a single look at camp before focusing on the present.

* * * * *

Up high, the air was freezing cold; but the dragon’s metal hide generated so much heat, it was like we were flying in a protective bubble. Talk about seat warmers! And the grooves in the dragon’s back were designed like high-tech saddles, so we weren’t uncomfortable at all. Leo showed us how to hook our feet in the chinks of the armor, like in stirrups, and use the leather safety harnesses cleverly concealed under the exterior plating. We sat single file: Leo in front, then Piper, then me, then Jason, and I was very aware of Jason right behind her. I strangely wished he would hold onto me, but he didn't. I mentally reprimanded myself for feeling this way; I barely knew him.

Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he’d been doing it all his life. The metal wings worked perfectly, and soon the coast of Long Island was just a hazy line behind us. We shot over Connecticut and climbed into the gray winter clouds.  
  
Leo grinned back at us. “Cool, right?”  
  
“What if we get spotted?” Piper asked.  
  
“The Mist,” Jason said. “It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they’ll probably mistake us for a small plane or something.”  
  
Piper glanced over her shoulder. “You sure about that?”  
  
“No,” he admitted. I turned around and saw he was clutching a photo in his hand—a picture of Thalia.  
  
I gave Jason a quizzical look, but he blushed and put the photo in his pocket. “We’re making good time. Probably get there by tonight.”  
  
I wondered why he had a picture of Thalia. I mean, she was his half-sibling, but why did he have it with him on this quest?

“Where are we heading?” I turned back to Piper, who'd asked the question.  
  
“To find the god of the North Wind,” Jason said. “And chase some storm spirits.”


	6. Chapter 6

**THEODORA**

“Shut up, me,” Leo said aloud.  
  
“What?” Piper asked.  
  
“Nothing,” he said. “Long night. I think I’m hallucinating. It’s cool.”  
  
I frowned a little. I sensed a little fear radiating off of him, but decided not to say anything about it - it didn't seem like a good time.  
  
“Just joking. So what’s the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?”  
  
As they flew over New England, Jason laid out the game plan: First, find some guy named Boreas and grill him for information-  
  
“His name is Boreas?” Leo had to ask. “What is he, the God of Boring?”  
  
Second, Jason continued, we had to find those venti that had attacked them at the Grand Canyon (Annabeth had filled me in on everything that'd happened last night)-  
  
“Can we just call them storm spirits?” Leo asked. “Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks.”  
  
And third, Jason finished, we had to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so we could find Hera and free her.  
  
“So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose,” Leo said. “The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds.”  
  
“That’s about it,” Jason said. “Well... there may be a wolf involved, too. But I think she’s friendly. She probably won’t eat us, unless we show weakness.”  
  
Jason told us about his dream—the big nasty mother wolf and a burned-out house with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool.  
  
“Uh-huh,” Leo said. “But you don’t know where this place is.”  
  
“Nope,” Jason admitted.  
  
“There’s also giants,” Piper added. “The prophecy said the giants’ revenge.”  
  
“Hold on,” Leo said. “Giants - like more than one? Why can’t it be just one giant who wants revenge?”  
  
“I don’t think so,” Piper said. “I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants.”  
  
“Great,” Leo muttered. “Of course, with our luck, it’s an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Didn’t you do a bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad?”  
  
“Your dad’s an actor?” Jason asked.  
  
Leo laughed. “I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That’s funny. But yeah, her dad’s Tristan McLean.”  
  
“Uh—Sorry, what was he in?”  
  
“It doesn’t matter,” Piper said quickly. “The giants - well, there were lots of giants in Greek mythology. But if I’m thinking of the right ones, they were bad news. Huge, almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. I think they were related to the Titans. They rose from the earth after Kronos lost the war - I mean the first Titan war, thousands of years ago - and they tried to destroy Olympus. If we’re talking about the same giants-”  
  
“Chiron said it was happening again,” Jason remembered. “The last chapter. That’s what he meant. No wonder he didn’t want us to know all the details.”  
  
Leo whistled. “So... giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn’t the time to bring up my psycho babysitter.”  
  
“Is that another joke?” I asked.  
  
Leo told us about Tía Callida, who was really Hera, and how she’d appeared to him at camp. I nodded - it wasn't very common of gods to visit demigos, but it certainly happened from time to time, especially if they were to be important.  
  
He then told us about the strange woman in earthen robes who seemed to be asleep, and seemed to know the future.  
  
I estimated the whole state of Massachusetts passed below them before one of us spoke.  
  
“That’s... disturbing,” Piper said.  
  
“’Bout sums it up,” Leo agreed. “Thing is, everybody says don’t trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we’d cause death if we unleash her rage. So I’m wondering... why are we doing this?”  
  
“She chose us,” Jason said. “All three of us. We’re the first of the seven who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger.”  
  
I could tell that didn’t make Leo feel any better, but he also couldn’t argue with Jason’s point. It did feel like this was the start of something huge - at least, it did to me.

“Besides,” Jason continued, “helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. And that dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on Hera’s energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera-”  
  
“Not a good trade-off,” Piper agreed. “At least Hera is on our side - mostly. Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She’s the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War.”  
  
Jason nodded. “Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic, and all - something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who’s controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods-”  
  
“Might be that weird sleeping lady,” Leo finished. “Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see.”  
  
“But who is she?” Jason asked. “And what does she have to do with giants?”  
  
I had a small hunch, but decided not to share it until I was more certain - if we were truly dealing with her...  
  
Festus kept flying. The wind got colder, and below them snowy forests seemed to go on forever.  
  
“Why don’t you get some sleep?” I heard Piper say in his ear. “You were up all night.”  
  
Leo looked like he wanted to protest. “You won’t let me fall off?”  
  
Piper patted his shoulder. “Trust me, Valdez. Beautiful people never lie.”  
  
“Right,” he muttered. He leaned forward against the warm bronze of the dragon’s neck, and closed his eyes.

* * * * *

When Piper shook him awake, the daylight was fading.

“We’re here,” she said.  
  
Leo rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Below us, a city sat on a cliff overlooking a river. The plains around it were dusted with snow, but the city itself glowed warmly in the winter sunset. Buildings crowded together inside high walls like a medieval town. In the center was an actual castle with massive red brick walls and a square tower with a peaked, green gabled roof.  
  
“Tell me that’s Quebec and not Santa’s workshop,” Leo said.  
  
“Yeah, Quebec City,” Piper confirmed. “One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?”  
  
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Your dad do a movie about that too?”  
  
I couldn't see her face, but I assumed she didn't look happy. “I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn’t mean I have to be an airhead.”  
  
“Feisty!” Leo said. “So you know so much, what’s that castle?”  
  
“A hotel, I think.”  
  
Leo laughed. “No way.”  
  
But as they got closer, I saw she was right. The grand entrance was bustling with doormen, valets, and porters taking bags. Sleek black luxury cars idled in the drive. People in elegant suits and winter cloaks hurried to get out of the cold.  
  
“The North Wind is staying in a hotel?” Leo said. “That can’t be-”  
  
“Heads up, guys,” Jason interrupted. “We got company!”  
  
I looked below and saw what Jason meant. Rising from the top of the tower were two winged figures - angry angels, with nasty-looking swords.  
  
Festus didn’t like the angel guys. He swooped to a halt in midair, wings beating and talons bared, and made a rumbling sound in his throat that didn't sound too friendly.  
  
“Steady, boy,” Leo muttered.  
  
“I don’t like this,” Jason said. “They look like storm spirits.”  
  
At first I thought he was right, but as the angels got closer, I could see they were much more solid than venti. They looked like regular teenagers except for their icy white hair and feathery purple wings. Their bronze swords were jagged, like icicles. Their faces looked similar enough that they might’ve been brothers, but they definitely weren’t twins.  
  
One was the size of an ox, with a bright red hockey jersey, baggy sweatpants, and black leather cleats. The guy clearly had been in too many fights, because both his eyes were black, and when he bared his teeth, several of them were missing.  
  
The other guy looked like he’d just stepped off a bad 80's rock album cover. His ice-white hair was long and feathered into a mullet. He wore pointy-toed leather shoes, designer pants that were way too tight, and a god-awful silk shirt with the top three buttons open. Maybe he thought he looked like a groovy love god, but the guy couldn’t have weighed more than ninety pounds, and he had a bad case of acne.

The guys -  probably gods pulled up in front of the dragon and hovered there, swords at the ready.  
  
The hockey ox grunted. “No clearance.”  
  
“’Scuse me?” Leo said.  
  
“You have no flight plan on file,” explained the groovy love god. On top of his other problems, he had a French accent so bad I was sure it was fake. “This is restricted airspace.”  
  
“Destroy them?” The ox showed off his gap-toothed grin.  
  
The dragon began to hiss steam, ready to defend them. Jason summoned his golden sword, but Leo cried, “Hold on! Let’s have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?”  
  
“I am Cal!” the ox grunted. He looked very proud of himself, like he’d taken a long time to memorize that sentence.  
  
“That’s short for Calais,” the love god said. “Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables-”  
  
“Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!” Cal offered.  
  
“-which includes his own name,” the love god finished.  
  
“I am Cal,” Cal repeated. “And this is Zethes! My brother!”  
  
“Wow,” Leo said. “That was almost three sentences, man! Way to go.”  
  
Cal grunted, obviously pleased with himself.  
  
“Stupid buffoon,” his brother grumbled. “They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes. And the ladies here-” He winked at Piper and me, but the wink was more like a facial seizure. “They can call me anything they like. Perhaps they would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you?”  
  
Piper made a sound like gagging on a cough drop. “That’s... a truly horrifying offer.”  
  
“It is no problem.” Zethes wiggled his eyebrows. “We are a very romantic people, we Boreads.”  
  
“Boreads?” Jason cut in. “Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?”  
  
“Ah, so you’ve heard of us!” Zethes looked pleased. “We are our father’s gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people flying in his airspace on creaky dragons, scaring the silly mortal peoples.”  
  
He pointed below, and I saw that the mortals were starting to take notice. Several were pointing up - not with alarm, yet - more with confusion and annoyance, like the dragon was a traffic helicopter flying too low.  
  
“Which is sadly why, unless this is an emergency landing,” Zethes said, brushing his hair out of his acne-covered face, “we will have to destroy you painfully.”  
  
“Destroy!” Cal agreed, with a little more enthusiasm than I thought necessary.  
  
“Wait!” Piper said. “This is an emergency landing.”  
  
“Awww!” Cal looked so disappointed, I almost felt sorry for him.  
  
Zethes studied Piper, which of course he’d already been doing. “How does the pretty girl decide this is an emergency, then?”  
  
“We have to see Boreas. It’s totally urgent! Please?” She forced a smile, which I figured must’ve been killing her; but she still had that blessing of Aphrodite thing going on, and she looked great. Something about her voice, too - I found himself believing every word. Jason was nodding, looking absolutely convinced.  
  
Zethes picked at his silk shirt, probably making sure it was still open wide enough. “Well... I hate to disappoint a lovely lady, but you see, my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you-”  
  
“And our dragon is malfunctioning!” I added. “It could crash any minute!”  
  
Festus shuddered helpfully, then turned his head and spilled gunk out of his ear, splattering a black Mercedes in the parking lot below.  
  
“No destroy?” Cal whimpered.  
  
Zethes pondered the problem. Then he gave us another spasmodic wink. “Well, you are pretty. I mean, you’re right. A malfunctioning dragon - this could be an emergency.”  
  
“Destroy them later?” Cal offered, which was probably as close to friendly as he ever got.  
  
“It will take some explaining,” Zethes decided. “Father has not been kind to visitors lately. But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us.”  
  
The Boreads sheathed their swords and pulled smaller weapons from their belts—or at least Leo thought they were weapons. Then the Boreads switched them on, and Leo realized they were flashlights with orange cones, like the ones traffic controller guys use on a runway. Cal and Zethes turned and swooped toward the hotel’s tower.  
  
Leo turned to his friends. “I love these guys. Follow them?”  
  
Jason and Piper didn’t look eager.  
  
“I guess,” Jason decided. “We’re here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn’t been kind to visitors.”  
  
“Pfft, he just hasn’t met us.” Leo whistled. “Festus, after those flashlights!”


	7. Chapter 7

**LEO**

As we got closer, I worried we’d crash into the tower. The Boreads made right for the green gabled peak and didn’t slow down. Then a section of the slanted roof slid open, revealing an entrance easily wide enough for Festus. The top and bottom were lined with icicles like jagged teeth.

“This cannot be good,” Jason muttered, but I spurred the dragon downward, and we swooped in after the Boreads.  
  
We landed in what must have been the penthouse suite; but the place had been hit by a flash freeze. The entry hall had vaulted ceilings forty feet high, huge draped windows, and lush oriental carpets. A staircase at the back of the room led up to another equally massive hall, and more corridors branched off to the left and right. But the ice made the room’s beauty a little frightening. When I slid off the dragon, the carpet crunched under my feet. A fine layer of frost covered the furniture. The curtains didn’t budge because they were frozen solid, and the ice-coated windows let in weird watery light from the sunset. Even the ceiling was furry with icicles. As for the stairs, I was sure I’d slip and break my neck if I tried to climb them.  
  
“Guys,” I said, “fix the thermostat in here, and I would totally move in.”  
  
“Not me.” Jason looked uneasily at the staircase. “Something feels wrong. Something up there...”  
  
Festus shuddered and snorted flames. Frost started to form on his scales.  
  
“No, no, no.” Zethes marched over, though how he could walk in those pointy leather shoes, I had no idea. “The dragon must be deactivated. We can’t have fire in here. The heat ruins my hair.”  
  
Festus growled and spun his drill-bit teeth.  
  
“’S’okay, boy.” I turned to Zethes. “The dragon’s a little touchy about the whole deactivation concept. But I’ve got a better solution.”  
  
“Destroy?” Cal suggested.  
  
“No, man. You gotta stop with the destroy talk. Just wait.”  
  
“Leo,” Piper said nervously, “what are you-”  
  
“Watch and learn, beauty queen. When I was repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds of buttons. Some, you do not want to know what they do. But others... Ah, here we go.”  
  
I hooked my fingers behind the dragon’s left foreleg. I pulled the switch I was looking for, and the dragon shuddered from head to toe. Everyone backed away as Festus folded like origami. His bronze plating stacked together. His neck and tail contracted into his body. His wings collapsed and his trunk compacted until he was a rectangular metal wedge the size of a suitcase.  
  
I tried to lift it, but the thing weighed about six billion pounds. “Um... yeah. Hold on. I think-aha.”  
  
I pushed another button. A handle flipped up on the top, and wheels clicked out on the bottom.  
  
“Ta-da!” I announced. “The world’s heaviest carry-on bag!”  
  
“That’s impossible,” Jason said. “Something that big couldn’t-”  
  
“Stop!” Zethes ordered. He and Cal both drew their swords and glared at me.  
  
I raised my hands. “Okay... what’d I do? Stay calm, guys. If it bothers you that much, I don’t have to take the dragon as carry-on-”  
  
“Who are you?” Zethes shoved the point of his sword against my chest. “A child of the South Wind, spying on us?”  
  
“What? No!” I said. “Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith, no harm to anyone!”  
  
Cal growled. He put his face up to mine, and he definitely wasn’t any prettier at point-blank, with his bruised eyes and bashed-in mouth. “Smell fire,” he said. “Fire is bad.”  
  
“Oh.” My heart raced. “Yeah, well... my clothes are kind of singed, and I’ve been working with oil, and-”  
  
“No!” Zethes pushed Leo back at sword point. “We can smell fire, demigod. We assumed it was from the creaky dragon, but now the dragon is a suitcase. And I still smell fire... on you.”  
  
If it hadn’t been like three degrees in the penthouse, I would’ve started sweating. “Hey... look... I don’t know-” I glanced at his friends, desperate. “Guys, a little help?”  
  
Jason already had his gold coin in his hand. He stepped forward, his eyes on Zethes. “Look, there’s been a mistake. Leo isn’t a fire guy. Tell them, Leo. Tell them you’re not a fire guy.”  
  
“Um...” I felt Theodora's eyes on me. Her silence was making me nervous, even if she didn't seem like the type to talk a lot.  
  
“Zethes?” Piper tried her dazzling smile again, though she looked a little too nervous and cold to pull it off. “We’re all friends here. Put down your swords and let’s talk.”  
  
“The girl is pretty,” Zethes admitted, “and of course she cannot help being attracted to my amazingness; but sadly, I cannot romance her at this time.” He poked his sword point farther into my chest, and I could feel the frost spreading across my shirt, turning my skin numb.  
  
I wished he could reactivate Festus. I needed some backup. But it would’ve taken several minutes, even if I could reach the button, with two purple-winged crazy guys in my path.  
  
“Destroy him now?” Cal asked his brother.  
  
Zethes nodded. “Sadly, I think—”  
  
“No,” Jason insisted. He sounded calm enough, but I figured he was about two seconds away from flipping that coin and going into full gladiator mode. “Leo’s just a son of Hephaestus. He’s no threat. Piper here is a daughter of Aphrodite. Theodora's a daughter of Lyssa. I’m the son of Zeus. We’re on a peaceful …”  
  
Jason’s voice faltered, because both Boreads had suddenly turned on him.  
  
“What did you say?” Zethes demanded. “You are the son of Zeus?”  
  
“Um... yeah,” Jason said. “That’s a good thing, right? My name is Jason.”  
  
Cal looked so surprised, he almost dropped his sword. “Can’t be Jason,” he said. “Doesn’t look the same.”  
  
Zethes stepped forward and squinted at Jason’s face. “No, he is not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me - but stylish. Besides, our Jason died millennia ago.”  
  
“Wait,” Jason said. “Your Jason... you mean the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?”

“Of course,” Zethes said. “We were his crewmates aboard his ship, the Argo, in the old times, when we were mortal demigods. Then we accepted immortality to serve our father, so I could look this good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey.”  
  
“Hockey!” Cal agreed.  
  
“But Jason - our Jason - he died a mortal death,” Zethes said. “You can’t be him.”  
  
“I’m not,” Jason agreed.  
  
“So, destroy?” Cal asked. Clearly the conversation was giving his two brain cells a serious workout.  
  
“No,” Zethes said regretfully. “If he is a son of Zeus, he could be the one we’ve been watching for.”  
  
“Watching for?” I asked. “You mean like in a good way: you’ll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for like in a bad way: he’s in trouble?”  
  
A girl’s voice said, “That depends on my father’s will.”  
  
I looked up the staircase. My heart nearly stopped. At the top stood a girl in a white silk dress. Her skin was unnaturally pale, the color of snow, but her hair was a lush mane of black, and her eyes were coffee brown. She focused on me with no expression, no smile, no friendliness. But it didn’t matter. I was in love. She was the most dazzling girl I’d ever seen.  
  
Then she looked at Jason, Theodora and Piper, and seemed to understand the situation immediately.  
  
“Father will want to see the one called Jason,” the girl said.  
  
“Then it is him?” Zethes asked excitedly.  
  
“We’ll see,” the girl said. “Zethes, bring our guests.”  
  
I grabbed the handle of his bronze dragon suitcase. I wasn’t sure how I’d lug it up the stairs, but I had to get next to that girl and ask her some important questions - like her e-mail address and phone number.  
  
Before I could take a step, she froze me with a look. Not literally froze, but she might as well have.  
  
“Not you, Leo Valdez,” she said.  
  
In the back of his mind, I wondered how she knew my name; but mostly I was just concentrating on how crushed I felt.  
  
“Why not?” I probably sounded like a whiny kindergartner, but I couldn’t help it.  
  
“You cannot be in the presence of my father,” the girl said. “Fire and ice - it would not be wise.”  
  
“We’re going together,” Jason insisted, putting his hand on my shoulder, “or not at all.”  
  
The girl tilted her head, like she wasn’t used to people refusing her orders. “He will not be harmed, Jason Grace, unless you make trouble. Calais, keep Leo Valdez here. Guard him, but do not kill him.”  
  
Cal pouted. “Just a little?”  
  
“No,” the girl insisted. “And take care of his interesting suitcase, until Father passes judgment.”  
  
Jason, Theodora and Piper looked at me, their expressions asking me a silent question: _How do you want to play this?_  
  
I felt a surge of gratitude. They were ready to fight for me. They wouldn’t leave me alone with the hockey ox. Part of me wanted to go for it, bust out my new tool belt and see what I could do, maybe even summon a fireball or two and warm this place up. But the Boread guys scared me. And that gorgeous girl scared me more, even if I still wanted her number.  
  
“It’s fine, guys,” I said. “No sense causing trouble if we don’t have to. You go ahead.”  
  
“Listen to your friend,” the pale girl said. “Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you, son of Zeus. Now come, King Boreas is waiting.”


	8. Chapter 8

**THEODORA**

Jason looked like he didn't want to leave Leo, but I was starting to think that hanging out with Cal the hockey jock might be the least dangerous option in this place.

As we climbed the icy staircase, Zethes stayed behind us, his blade drawn. The guy might’ve looked like a disco-era reject, but there was nothing funny about his sword. I figured one hit from that thing would probably turn me into a Popsicle.  
  
Then there was the ice princess. Every once in a while she’d turn and give only Jason a smile, but there was no warmth in her expression. She regarded Jason like he was an especially interesting science specimen - one she couldn’t wait to dissect. I felt strangely protective, even though I figured Jason could handle himself.  
  
If these were Boreas’s kids, I wasn’t sure he wanted to meet Daddy. Annabeth had once told me Boreas was the friendliest of the wind gods, which I figured she'd told Jason as well. Apparently that meant he didn’t kill heroes quite as fast as the others did.  
  
Jason took my hand as we walked. I gave it a soft squeeze to reassure him.  
  
“It’ll be fine,” I promised. “Just a talk, right?”  
  
At the top of the stairs, the ice princess looked back and noticed us holding hands. Her smile faded. Suddenly my hand in Jason's turned ice cold - burning cold. He let go, and his fingers were smoking with frost. So were mine.  
  
“Warmth is not a good idea here,” the princess advised, “especially when I am your best chance of staying alive. Please, this way.”  
  
Piper gave us a nervous frown like, _What was that about?_  
  
I didn’t have an answer. Zethes poked Jason in the back with his icicle sword, and we followed the princess down a massive hallway decked in frosty tapestries.  
  
Freezing winds blew back and forth, and Jason seemed to be in deep thought.  
  
“Hey.” Piper touched his arm. “You still with us?”  
  
“Yeah... yeah, sorry.”

At the end of the hallway we found ourselves in front of a set of oaken doors carved with a map of the world. In each corner was a man’s bearded face, blowing wind. I’d seen maps like this before. But in this version, all the wind guys were Winter, blowing ice and snow from every corner of the world.  
  
The princess turned. Her brown eyes glittered, and I felt like she had her mind set on something that wouldn't benefit us.  
  
“This is the throne room,” she said. “Be on your best behavior, Jason Grace. My father can be... chilly. I will translate for you, and try to encourage him to hear you out. I do hope he spares you. We could have such fun.”  
  
I guessed this girl’s definition of fun was not the same as ours.  
  
“Um, okay,” he said. “But really, we’re just here for a little talk. We’ll be leaving right afterward.”  
  
The girl smiled. “I love heroes. So blissfully ignorant.”  
  
Piper rested her hand on her dagger. “Well, how about you enlighten us? You say you’re going to translate for us, and we don’t even know who you are. What’s your name?”  
  
The girl sniffed with distaste. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you don’t recognize me. Even in the ancient times the Greeks did not know me well. Their island homes were too warm, too far from my domain. I am Khione, daughter of Boreas, goddess of snow.”  
  
She stirred the air with her finger, and a miniature blizzard swirled around her - big, fluffy flakes as soft as cotton. I felt a little ashamed for not recognizing her - my own mother was a minor goddess, after all. I mentally shrugged it off.  
  
“Now, come,” Khione said. The oaken doors blew open, and cold blue light spilled out of the room. “Hopefully you will survive your little talk.”

* * * * *

If the entry hall had been cold, the throne room was like a meat locker.  
  
Mist hung in the air. I shivered, and my breath steamed. Along the walls, purple tapestries showed scenes of snowy forests, barren mountains, and glaciers. High above, ribbons of colored light - the aurora borealis - pulsed along the ceiling. A layer of snow covered the floor, so we had to step carefully. All around the room stood life-size ice sculpture warriors - some in Greek armor, some medieval, some in modern camouflage - all frozen in various attack positions, swords raised, guns locked and loaded.  
  
At least I thought they were sculptures. Then Jason tried to step between two Greek spearmen, and they moved with surprising speed, their joints cracking and spraying ice crystals as they crossed their javelins to block Jason’s path.  
  
From the far end of the hall, a man’s voice rang out in a language that sounded like French. The room was so long and misty, I couldn’t see the other end; but whatever the man said, the ice guards uncrossed their javelins.  
  
“It’s fine,” Khione said. “My father has ordered them not to kill you just yet.”  
  
“Super,” Jason said.  
  
Zethes prodded him in the back with his sword. “Keep moving, Jason Junior.”  
  
“Please don’t call me that.”  
  
“My father is not a patient man,” Zethes warned, “and the beautiful Piper, sadly, is losing her magic hairdo very fast. Later, perhaps, I can lend her something from my wide assortment of hair products.”  
  
“Thanks,” Piper grumbled.  
  
We kept walking, and the mist parted to reveal a man on an ice throne. He was sturdily built, dressed in a stylish white suit that seemed woven from snow, with dark purple wings that spread out to either side. His long hair and shaggy beard were encrusted with icicles, so I couldn’t tell if his hair was gray or just white with frost. His arched eyebrows made him look angry, but his eyes twinkled more warmly than his daughter’s - as if he might have a sense of humor buried somewhere under that permafrost. I hoped so.

“Bienvenu,” the king said. “Je suis Boreas le Roi. Et vous?”  
  
Khione the snow goddess was about to speak, but Piper stepped forward and curtsied.  
  
“Votre Majesté,” she said, “ je suis Piper McLean. Et c’est Jason, fils de Zeus, et elle s'apelle Theodora, elle est une fille de Lyssa.”  
  
The king smiled with pleasant surprise. “Vous parlez français? Très bien!”  
  
“Piper, you speak French?” Jason asked. Piper frowned. “No. Why?” “You just spoke French.” Piper blinked. “I did?” The king said something else, and Piper nodded. “Oui, Votre Majesté.”  
  
The king laughed and clapped his hands, obviously delighted. He said a few more sentences then swept his hand toward his daughter as if shooing her away.  
  
Khione looked miffed. “The king says-”  
  
“He says I’m a daughter of Aphrodite,” Piper interrupted, “so naturally I can speak French, which is the language of love. I had no idea. His Majesty says Khione won’t have to translate now.”  
  
Behind them, Zethes snorted, and Khione shot him a murderous look. She bowed stiffly to her father and took a step back.  
  
The king sized up Jason, and Jason decided it would be a good idea to bow. I followed his example, just to be safe. “Your Majesty, I’m Jason Grace. Thank you for, um, not killing us. May I ask... why does a Greek god speak French?”  
  
Piper had another exchange with the king.  
  
“He speaks the language of his host country,” Piper translated. “He says all gods do this. Most Greek gods speak English, as they now reside in the United States, but Boreas was never welcomed in their realm. His domain was always far to the north. These days he likes Quebec, so he speaks French.”  
  
The king said something else, and Piper turned pale.  
  
“The king says...” She faltered. “He says—”  
  
“Oh, allow me,” Khione said. “My father says he has orders to kill you. Did I not mention that earlier?”


	9. Chapter 9

**JASON**

I tensed. The king was still smiling amiably, like he’d just delivered great news.  
  
“Kill us?” I said. “Why?”  
  
“Because,” the king said, in heavily accented English, “my lord Aeolus has commanded it.”  
  
Boreas rose. He stepped down from his throne and furled his wings against his back. As he approached, Khione and Zethes bowed. The three of us followed their example.  
  
“I shall deign to speak your language,” Boreas said, “as Piper McLean has honored me in mine. Toujours, I have had a fondness for the children of Aphrodite. As for you, Jason Grace, my master Aeolus would not expect me to kill a son of Lord Zeus... without first hearing you out.”  
  
My gold coin seemed to grow heavy in my pocket. If I were forced to fight, I didn’t like his chances. Two seconds at least to summon my blade. Then we’d be facing a god, two of his children, and an army of freeze-dried warriors.  
  
“Aeolus is the master of the winds, right?” I asked. “Why would he want us dead?”  
  
“You are demigods,” Boreas said, as if this explained everything. “Aeolus’s job is to contain the winds, and demigods have always caused him many headaches. They ask him for favors. They unleash winds and cause chaos. But the final insult was the battle with Typhon last summer...” Theodora flinched visibly and wrapped her arms around her torso. I resisted the urge to try reassuring her.  
  
Boreas waved his hand, and a sheet of ice like a flat-screen TV appeared in the air. Images of a battle flickered across the surface - a giant wrapped in storm clouds, wading across a river toward the Manhattan skyline. Tiny, glowing figures - the gods, I guessed - swarmed around him like angry wasps, pounding the monster with lightning and fire. Finally the river erupted in a massive whirlpool, and the smoky form sank beneath the waves and disappeared.  
  
“The storm giant, Typhon,” Boreas explained. “The first time the gods defeated him, eons ago, he did not die quietly. His death released a host of storm spirits - wild winds that answered to no one. It was Aeolus’s job to track them all down and imprison them in his fortress. The other gods - they did not help. They did not even apologize for the inconvenience. It took Aeolus centuries to track down all the storm spirits, and naturally this irritated him. Then, last summer, Typhon was defeated again-”  
  
“And his death released another wave of venti,” I guessed. “Which made Aeolus even angrier.”  
  
“C’est vrai,” Boreas agreed.  
  
“But, Your Majesty,” Piper said, “the gods had no choice but to battle Typhon. He was going to destroy Olympus! Besides, why punish demigods for that?”  
  
The king shrugged. “Aeolus cannot take out his anger on the gods. They are his bosses, and very powerful. So he gets even with the demigods who helped them in the war. He issued orders to us: demigods who come to us for aid are no longer to be tolerated. We are to crush your little mortal faces.”  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence.  
  
“That sounds... extreme,” I ventured. “But you’re not going to crush our faces yet, right? You’re going to listen to us first, ’cause once you hear about our quest-”  
  
“Yes, yes,” the king agreed. “You see, Aeolus also said that a son of Zeus might seek my aid, and if this happened, I should listen to you before destroying you, as you might - how did he put it? - make all our lives very interesting. I am only obligated to _listen_ , however. After that, I am free to pass judgment as I see fit. But I _will_ listen first. Khione wishes this also. It may be that we will not kill you.”  
  
I felt like he could almost breathe again. “Great. Thanks.”  
  
“Do not thank me.” Boreas smiled. “There are many ways you could make our lives interesting. Sometimes we keep demigods for our amusement, as you can see.”  
  
He gestured around the room to the various ice statues.  
  
Piper made a strangled noise. “You mean - they’re all demigods? Frozen demigods? They’re alive?”  
  
“An interesting question,” Boreas conceded, as if it had never occurred to him before. “They do not move unless they are obeying my orders. The rest of the time, they are merely frozen. Unless they were to melt, I suppose, which would be very messy.”  
  
Khione stepped behind me and put her cold fingers on my neck. “My father gives me such lovely presents,” she murmured in my ear. “Join our court. Perhaps I’ll let your friends go.”  
  
“What?” Zethes broke in. “If Khione gets this one, then I deserve the girls. Khione always gets more presents!”  
  
“Now, children,” Boreas said sternly. “Our guests will think you are spoiled! Besides, you moved too fast. We have not even heard the demigod’s story yet. Then we will decide what to do with them. Please, Jason Grace, entertain us.”  
  
I felt my brain shutting down. I didn’t look at Piper or Theodora for fear I’d completely lose it. I’d gotten them into this, and now they were going die - or worse, they’d be amusements for Boreas’s children and end up frozen forever in this throne room, slowly corroding from freezer burn.  
  
Khione purred and stroked my neck. I didn’t plan it, but electricity sparked along my skin. There was loud pop, and Khione flew backward, skidding across the floor.  
  
Zethes laughed. “That is good! I’m glad you did that, even though I have to kill you now.”  
  
For a moment, Khione was too stunned to react. Then the air around her began to swirl with a micro-blizzard. “You dare-”  
  
“Stop,” I ordered, with as much force as I could muster. “You’re not going to kill us. And you’re not going to keep us. We’re on a quest for the queen of the gods herself, so unless you want Hera busting down your doors, you’re going to let us go.”  
  
I sounded a lot more confident than he felt, but it got their attention. Khione’s blizzard swirled to a stop. Zethes lowered his sword. They both looked uncertainly at their father.  
  
“Hmm,” Boreas said. His eyes twinkled, but I couldn’t tell if it was with anger or amusement. “A son of Zeus, favored by Hera? This is definitely a first. Tell us your story.”  
  
I would’ve botched it right there. I hadn’t been expecting to get the chance to talk, and now that I could, my voice abandoned me.  
  
Theodora saved me. “Your Majesty.” She curtsied with incredible poise, considering her life was on the line. She told Boreas the whole story, from the Grand Canyon to the prophecy, much better and faster than I could have - with details I didn't even know myself, probably thanks to Annabeth. It occurred to me this is the longest I'd heard her speak so far, and it entranced me.  
  
“All we ask for is guidance,” Theodora concluded. “These storm spirits attacked my friends, and they’re working for some evil mistress. If we find them, maybe we can find Hera.”  
  
The king stroked the icicles in his beard. Out the windows, night had fallen, and the only light came from the aurora borealis overhead, washing everything in red and blue.  
  
“I know of these storm spirits,” Boreas said. “I know where they are kept, and of the prisoner they took.”  
  
“You mean Coach Hedge?” I asked. “He’s alive?”  
  
Boreas waved aside the question. “For now. But the one who controls these storm winds... It would be madness to oppose her. You would be better staying here as frozen statues.”  
  
“Hera’s in trouble,” I said. “In three days she’s going to be - I don’t know - consumed, destroyed, something. And a giant is going to rise.”  
  
“Yes,” Boreas agreed. Was it my imagination, or did he shoot Khione an angry look? “Many horrible things are waking. Even my children do not tell me all the news they should. The Great Stirring of monsters that began with Kronos - your father Zeus foolishly believed it would end when the Titans were defeated. But just as it was before, so it is now. The final battle is yet to come, and the one who will wake is more terrible than any Titan. Storm spirits - these are only beginning. The earth has many more horrors to yield up. When monsters no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades... Olympus has good reason to fear.”  
  
I wasn’t sure what all this meant, but I didn’t like the way Khione was smiling—like this was her definition of fun. Piper looked as confused as I felt, and I could practically see the gears turning in Theodora's head.  
  
“So you’ll help us?” I asked the king.  
  
Boreas scowled. “I did not say that.”  
  
“Please, Your Majesty,” Piper said.  
  
Everyone’s eyes turned toward her. She had to be scared out of her mind, but she looked beautiful and confident - and it had nothing to do with the blessing of Aphrodite. She looked herself again, in day-old traveling clothes with choppy hair and no makeup. But she almost glowed with warmth in that cold throne room. “If you tell us where the storm spirits are, we can capture them and bring them to Aeolus. You’d look good in front of your boss. Aeolus might pardon us and the other demigods. We could even rescue Gleeson Hedge. Everyone wins.”  
  
“She’s pretty,” Zethes mumbled. “I mean, she’s right.”  
  
“Father, don’t listen to her,” Khione said. “She’s a child of Aphrodite. She dares to charmspeak a god? Freeze her now!”

Boreas considered this. I slipped my hand in my pocket and got ready to bring out the gold coin. If things went wrong, I’d have to move fast.  
  
The movement caught Boreas’s eye. “What is that on your forearm, demigod?”  
  
I hadn’t realized my coat sleeve had gotten pushed up, revealing the edge of his tattoo. Reluctantly, I showed Boreas my marks.  
  
The god’s eyes widened. Khione actually hissed and stepped away.  
  
Then Boreas did something unexpected. He laughed so loudly, an icicle cracked from the ceiling and crashed next to his throne. The god’s form began to flicker. His beard disappeared. He grew taller and thinner, and his clothes changed into a Roman toga, lined with purple. His head was crowned with a frosty laurel wreath, and a gladius - a Roman sword like mine - hung at his side.  
  
“Aquilon,” I said, though where I got the god’s Roman name from, I had no idea.  
  
The god inclined his head. “You recognize me better in this form, yes? And yet you said you came from Camp Half-Blood?”  
  
I shifted my feet, nervous. “Uh... yes, Your Majesty.”  
  
“And Hera sent you there...” The winter god’s eyes were full of mirth. “I understand now. Oh, she plays a dangerous game. Bold, but dangerous! No wonder Olympus is closed. They must be trembling at the gamble she has taken.”  
  
“Jason,” Piper said nervously, “why did Boreas change shape? The toga, the wreath. What’s going on?”  
  
“It’s his Roman form,” I said. “But what’s going on - I don’t know.”  
  
The god laughed. “No, I’m sure you don’t. This should be very interesting to watch.”  
  
“Does that mean you’ll let us go?” Theodora asked.  
  
“My dear,” Boreas said, “there is no reason for me to kill you. If Hera’s plan fails, which I think it will, you will tear each other apart. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again.”  
  
I felt as if Khione’s cold fingers were on my neck again, but it wasn’t her - it was just the feeling that Boreas was right. That sense of wrongness which had bothered me since I got to Camp Half-Blood, and Chiron’s comment about my arrival being disastrous - Boreas knew what they meant.  
  
“I don’t suppose you could explain?” I asked.  
  
“Oh, perish the thought! It is not for me to interfere in Hera’s plan. No wonder she took your memory.” Boreas chuckled, apparently still having a great time imagining demigods tearing each other apart. “You know, I have a reputation as a helpful wind god. Unlike my brethren, I’ve been known to fall in love with mortals. Why, my sons Zethes and Calais started as demigods-”  
  
“Which explains why they are idiots,” Khione growled.  
  
“Stop it!” Zethes snapped back. “Just because you were born a full goddess-”  
  
“Both of you, freeze,” Boreas ordered. Apparently, that word carried a lot of weight in the household, because the two siblings went absolutely still. “Now, as I was saying, I have a good reputation, but it is rare that Boreas plays an important role in the affairs of gods. I sit here in my palace, at the edge of civilization, and so rarely have amusements. Why, even that fool Notus, the South Wind, gets spring break in Cancún. What do I get? A winter festival with naked Québécois rolling around in the snow!”  
  
“I like the winter festival,” Zethes muttered.  
  
“My point,” Boreas snapped, “is that I now have a chance to be the center. Oh, yes, I will let you go on this quest. You will find your storm spirits in the windy city, of course. Chicago-”  
  
“Father!” Khione protested.  
  
Boreas ignored his daughter. “If you can capture the winds, you may be able to gain safe entrance to the court of Aeolus. If by some miracle you succeed, be sure to tell him you captured the winds on my orders.”  
  
“Okay, sure,” I said. “So Chicago is where we’ll find this lady who’s controlling the winds? She’s the one who’s trapped Hera?”  
  
“Ah.” Boreas grinned. “Those are two different questions, son of Jupiter.”  
  
 _Jupiter_ , I noticed. _Before, he called me son of Zeus_.  
  
“The one who controls the winds,” Boreas continued, “yes, you will find her in Chicago. But she is only a servant - a servant who is very likely to destroy you. If you succeed against her and take the winds, then you may go to Aeolus. Only he has knowledge of all the winds on the earth. All secrets come to his fortress eventually. If anyone can tell you where Hera is imprisoned, it is Aeolus. As for who you will meet when you finally find Hera’s cage - truly, if I told you that, you would beg me to freeze you.”  
  
“Father,” Khione protested, “you can’t simply let them—”  
  
“I can do what I like,” he said, his voice hardening. “I am still master here, am I not?”  
  
The way Boreas glared at his daughter, it was obvious they had some ongoing argument. Khione’s eyes flashed with anger, but she clenched her teeth. “As you wish, Father.”  
  
“Now go, demigods,” Boreas said, “before I change my mind. Zethes, escort them out safely.”  
  
We all bowed, and the god of the North Wind dissolved into mist.  
  
Back in the entry hall, Cal and Leo were waiting for them. Leo looked cold but unharmed. He’d even gotten cleaned up, and his clothes looked newly washed, like he’d used the hotel’s valet service. Festus the dragon was back in normal form, snorting fire over his scales to keep himself defrosted.  
  
As Khione led them down the stairs, I noticed that Leo’s eyes followed her. Leo started combing his hair back with his hands. _Uh-oh_ , I thought. He made a mental note to warn Leo about the snow goddess later. She was not someone to get a crush on.  
  
At the bottom step, Khione turned to Piper. “You have fooled my father, girl. But you have not fooled me. We are not done. And you, Jason Grace, I will see you as a statue in the throne room soon enough.”  
  
“Boreas is right,” I said, a sudden spur of courage running through me. “You’re a spoiled kid. See you around, ice princess.”  
  
Khione’s eyes flared pure white. For once, she seemed at a loss for words. She stormed back up the stairs - literally. Halfway up, she turned into a blizzard and disappeared.  
  
“Be careful,” Zethes warned. “She never forgets an insult.”  
  
Cal grunted in agreement. “Bad sister.”  
  
“She’s the goddess of snow,” I said. “What’s she going to do, throw snowballs at us?” But as I said it, I had a feeling Khione could do a whole lot worse.  
  
Leo looked devastated. “What happened up there? You made her mad? Is she mad at me too? Guys, that was my prom date!”  
  
“We’ll explain later,” Piper promised, but when she glanced at me, I realized she expected me to explain.  
  
What had happened up there? I wasn’t sure. Boreas had turned into Aquilon, his Roman form, as if my presence caused him to go schizophrenic.  
  
The idea that I had been sent to Camp Half-Blood seemed to amuse the god, but Boreas/Aquilon hadn’t let us go out of kindness. Cruel excitement had danced in his eyes, as if he’d just placed a bet on a dogfight.  
  
 _You will tear each other apart_ , he’d said with delight. _Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again._  
  
I looked away from Piper, trying not to show how unnerved he was. “Yeah,” I agreed, “we’ll explain later.”  
  
“Be careful, pretty girls,” Zethes said. “The winds between here and Chicago are bad-tempered. Many other evil things are stirring. I am sorry you will not be staying. You would make a lovely ice statue duo, in which I could check my reflection.”  
  
“Thanks,” Theodora said. “But I’d sooner play hockey with Cal.”  
  
“Hockey?” Cal’s eyes lit up.  
  
“Joking,” Theodora said. “And the storm winds aren’t our worst problem, are they?”  
  
“Oh, no,” Zethes agreed. “Something else. Something worse.”  
  
“Worse,” Cal echoed.  
  
“Can you tell us?” Piper gave them a smile.  
  
This time, the charm didn’t work. The purple-winged Boreads shook their heads in unison. The hangar doors opened onto a freezing starry night, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet, anxious to fly.  
  
“Ask Aeolus what is worse,” Zethes said darkly. “He knows. Good luck.”  
  
He almost sounded like he cared what happened to them, even though a few minutes ago he’d wanted to turn the girls into ice sculptures.  
  
Cal patted Leo on the shoulder. “Don’t get destroyed,” he said, which was probably the longest sentence he’d ever attempted. “Next time - hockey. Pizza.”  
  
“Come on, guys.” I stared out at the dark. I was anxious to get out of that cold penthouse, but I had a feeling it was the most hospitable place we’d see for a while. “Let’s go to Chicago and try not to get destroyed.”


	10. Chapter 10

**THEODORA**  

I didn't relax until the glow of Quebec City faded behind us.  
  
“You two were amazing,” Jason told Piper and me. She responded in French.  
  
“What’d you say?” he asked.  
  
“I said I only talked to Boreas. It wasn’t so amazing.” I thought I heard a twinge of guilt in her voice, but I wrote it off to my paranoia.  
  
“Hey,” Jason said, “you saved me from joining Khione’s subzero hero collection. I owe you one.”  
  
A moment of silence passed before Leo gave out some sandwiches from his pack. He’d been quiet ever since we'd told him what happened in the throne room. “I still can’t believe Khione,” he said. “She looked so nice.”  
  
“Trust me, man,” Jason said. “Snow may be pretty, but up close it’s cold and nasty. We’ll find you a better prom date.”  
  
Piper smiled, but Leo didn’t look pleased. He hadn’t said much about his time in the palace, or why the Boreads had singled him out for smelling like fire. I got the feeling he was hiding something. Whatever it was, his mood seemed to be affecting Festus, who grumbled and steamed as he tried to keep himself warm in the cold Canadian air. Happy the Dragon was not so happy.

We ate their sandwiches as they flew. I had no idea how Leo had stocked up on supplies, but he’d even remembered to bring veggie rations for Piper and me - well, he had enough for me too. He hadn't known I was a vegetarian too, yet. Either way, the cheese and avocado sandwich was pretty good.  
  
Nobody talked. Whatever we might find in Chicago, I think we all knew Boreas had only let us go because he figured we were already on a suicide mission.  
  
The moon rose and stars turned overhead. I felt my powers grow stronger in the dark - after all, my mother was a daughter of Nyx, the goddess of the night.  
  
Piper leaned back against my chest. I didn’t complain, she needed her sleep.

I sighed softly. Being strongest at nighttime has its perks on quests, but most of the time, it just resulted in insomnia. I couldn't even imagine how dark the bags under my eyes must have been.

Everything went along pretty smoothly from then on. Until Festus malfunctioned, that is.

We tumbled through the sky. Far below I saw city lights glimmering in the early dawn, and several hundred yards away the body of the bronze dragon spinning out of control, its wings limp, fire flickering in its mouth like a badly wired lightbulb.  
  
A body shot past me - Leo, screaming and frantically grabbing at the clouds. “Not coooooool!”  
  
I tried to call to him, but he was already too far below.  
  
Somewhere above me, Jason yelled, “Piper, level out! Extend your arms and legs!”  
  
I felt everyone's fear getting to me, pulling my focus away. I wouldn't be able to shadow-travel. I was falling faster than the rest, presumably because I'm so tiny and sickly thin.  
  
“We have to get Dor and Leo!” I heard Piper shout.

I felt their presence come closer through their fears before colliding with them. I wrapped my arms around Jason's neck as he wrapped one arm around my waist.  
  
“Gonna get rough,” Jason warned. “Hold on!”  
  
Piper locked her arms around him too, and Jason shot towards the ground. My vision blurred.  
  
And then, _thump_! We slammed into another warm body - Leo, still wriggling and cursing.  
  
“Stop fighting!” Jason said. “It’s us!”  
  
“My dragon!” Leo yelled. “You gotta save Festus!”  
  
Jason was already struggling to keep the four of us aloft, and I knew there was no way he could help a fifty-ton metal dragon. But before I could try to reason with Leo, I heard an explosion below us. A fireball rolled into the sky from behind a warehouse complex, and Leo sobbed, “Festus!”  
  
Jason’s face reddened with strain as he tried to maintain an air cushion beneath them, but intermittent slow-downs were the best he could manage. Rather than free-falling, it felt like we were bouncing down a giant staircase, a hundred feet at a time. I started to wriggle loose - their chance of survival would be bigger if I shadow-travelled onto the ground. I couldn't transport them all to safety, but this was the best I could do.

"What are you doing?!" Jason yelled as I pulled my arms away from him.

"Trust me! I know what I'm doing!"  _I think_ , I added in my head, hoping I could pull this off. I jumped off of them and let the shadows consume me as I looked through a window of the warehouse. I landed on the ground in the dark. I went to unsheathe my dagger, for protection, but before I could, the ceiling above me broke and everything went dark.


	11. Chapter 11

**PIPER**

I tried to land on my feet. My feet didn’t like that. Pain flared in my left ankle as I crumpled against a cold metal surface.  
  
For a few seconds I wasn’t conscious of anything but pain - pain so bad that my ears rang and my vision went red.  
  
Then I heard Jason’s voice somewhere below, echoing through the building. “Piper! Where’s Piper?”  
  
“Ow, bro!” Leo groaned. “That’s my back! I’m not a sofa! Piper, where’d you go?”  
  
“Here,” I managed, my voice a whimper.  
  
I heard shuffling and grunting, then feet pounding on metal steps.  
  
My vision began to clear. I was on a metal catwalk that ringed the warehouse interior. Leo and Jason had landed on ground level, and were now coming up the stairs toward me. I looked at my foot, and wave of nausea swept over me. My toes weren’t supposed to point that way, were they?  
  
Oh, god. I forced herself to look away before I threw up. Focus on something else. Anything else.  
  
The hole we’d made in the roof was a ragged starburst twenty feet above. How we’d even survived that drop, I had no idea. Hanging from the ceiling, a few electric bulbs flickered dimly, but they didn’t do much to light the enormous space. Next to me, the corrugated metal wall was emblazoned with a company logo, but it was almost completely spray-painted over with graffiti. Down in the shadowy warehouse, I could make out huge machines, robotic arms, half-finished trucks on an assembly line. The place looked like it had been abandoned for years.  
  
Jason and Leo reached her side, Jason holding a limp body bridal style - I recognized the white hair. Theodora. They must've landed on top of her, though how she got there, I had no idea.  
  
Leo started to ask, “You okay...?” Then he saw my foot. “Oh no, you’re not.”  
  
“Thanks for the reassurance,” I groaned.  
  
“You’ll be fine,” Jason said, though I could hear the worry in his voice. “Leo, you got any first aid supplies?”  
  
“Yeah - yeah, sure.” He dug around in his tool belt and pulled out a wad of gauze and a roll of duct tape - both of which seemed too big for the belt’s pockets. I had noticed the tool belt yesterday morning, but I hadn’t thought to ask Leo about it. It didn’t look like anything special - just one of those wraparound leather aprons with a bunch of pockets, like a blacksmith or a carpenter might wear. And it seemed to be empty.  
  
“How did you-” I tried to sit up, and winced. “How did pull that stuff from an empty belt?”  
  
“Magic,” Leo said. “Haven’t figure it out completely, but I can summon just about any regular tool out of the pockets, plus some other helpful stuff.” He reached into another pocket and pulled out a little tin box. “Breath mint?”  
  
Jason snatched away the mints. “That’s great, Leo. Now, can you fix her foot?”  
  
“I’m a mechanic, man. Maybe if she was a car …” He snapped his fingers. “Wait, what was that godly healing stuff they fed you at camp - Rambo food?”  
  
“Ambrosia, dummy,” I said through gritted teeth. “There should be some in my bag, if it’s not crushed.”  
  
Jason carefully pulled my backpack off my shoulders. He rummaged through the supplies the Aphrodite kids had packed for me, and found a Ziploc full of smashed pastry squares like lemon bars. He broke off a piece and fed it to me.  
  
The taste was nothing like I expected. It reminded me of Dad’s black bean soup from when I was a little girl. He used to feed it to me whenever she got sick. The memory relaxed me, though it made me sad. The pain in my ankle subsided.  
  
“More,” I said.  
  
Jason frowned. “Piper, we shouldn’t risk it. They said too much could burn you up. I think I should try to set your foot.”  
  
My stomach fluttered with anxiousness and nerves. “Have you ever done that before?”  
  
“Yeah... I think so.”  
  
Leo found an old piece of wood and broke it in half for a splint. Then he got the gauze and duct tape ready.  
  
“Hold her leg still,” Jason told him. “Piper, this is going to hurt.”  
  
When Jason set the foot, I flinched so hard I punched Leo in the arm, and he yelled almost as much as I did. When my vision cleared and I could breathe normally again, I found that my foot was pointing the right way, my ankle splinted with plywood, gauze, and duct tape.  
  
“Ow,” I said.  
  
“Jeez, beauty queen!” Leo rubbed his arm. “Glad my face wasn’t there.”  
  
“Sorry,” I said. “And don’t call me ‘beauty queen,’ or I’ll punch you again.”  
  
“You both did great.” Jason found a canteen in my pack and gave me some water. After a few minutes, my stomach began to calm down.  
  
Once I wasn’t screaming in pain, I could hear the wind howling outside. Snowflakes fluttered through the hole in the roof, and after our meeting with Khione, snow was the last thing I wanted to see.  
  
“What happened to the dragon?” I asked. “Where are we?”  
  
Leo’s expression turned sullen. “I don’t know with Festus. He just jerked sideways like he hit an invisible wall and started to fall.”  
  
I remembered Enceladus’s warning: _I’ll show you how easily your rebellious spirit can be brought to earth._ Had he managed to strike us down from so far away? It seemed impossible. If he were that powerful, why would he need me to betray my friends when he could just kill them himself? And how could the giant be keeping an eye on me in a snowstorm thousands of miles away?  
  
Leo pointed to the logo on the wall. “As far as where we are...” It was hard to see through the graffiti, but I could make out a large red eye with the stenciled words: _monocle motors, assembly plant 1_.  
  
“Closed car plant,” Leo said. “I’m guessing we crash-landed in Detroit.”  
  
I had heard about closed car plants in Detroit, so that made sense. But it seemed like a pretty depressing place to land. “How far is that from Chicago?”  
  
Jason handed her the canteen. “Maybe three-fourths of the way from Quebec? The thing is, without the dragon, we’re stuck traveling overland.”  
  
“No way,” Leo said. “It isn’t safe.”  
  
I thought about the way the ground had pulled at my feet in the dream, and what King Boreas had said about the earth yielding up more horrors. “He’s right. Besides, I don’t know if I can walk. And four people - Jason, you can’t fly that many across country by yourself.”  
  
“No way,” Jason said. “Leo, are you sure the dragon didn’t malfunction? I mean, Festus is old, and-”  
  
“And I might not have repaired him right?”  
  
“I didn’t say that,” Jason protested. “It’s just - maybe you could fix it.”  
  
“I don’t know.” Leo sounded crestfallen. He pulled a few screws out of his pockets and started fiddling with them. “I’d have to find where he landed, if he’s even in one piece.”  
  
“It was my fault.” I said without thinking. I just couldn’t stand it anymore. The secret about my father was heating up inside me like too much ambrosia. If I kept lying to her friends, I felt like she’d burn to ashes.  
  
“Piper,” Jason said gently, “you were asleep when Festus conked out. It couldn’t be your fault.”  
  
“Yeah, you’re just shaken up,” Leo agreed. He didn’t even try to make a joke at her expense. “You’re in pain. Just rest.”  
  
I wanted to tell them everything, but the words stuck in my throat. They were both being so kind to me. Yet if Enceladus was watching me somehow, saying the wrong thing could get my father killed.  
  
Leo stood. “Look, um, Jason, why don’t you stay with the girls, bro? I’ll scout around for Festus. I think he fell outside the warehouse somewhere. If I can find him, maybe I can figure out what happened and fix him.”  
  
“It’s too dangerous,” Jason said. “You shouldn’t go by yourself.”  
  
“Ah, I got duct tape and breath mints. I’ll be fine,” Leo said, a little too quickly, and I realized he was a lot more shaken up than he was letting on. “You guys just don’t run off without me.”  
  
Leo reached into his magic tool belt, pulled out a flashlight, and headed down the stairs, leaving Jason and me alone with an unconscious girl.  
  
Jason glanced towards Theodora with guilt in his eyes, but then gave me a small smile.  
  
“You look better,” he offered.  
  
I wasn’t sure if he meant my foot, or the fact that I wasn’t magically beautified anymore. My jeans were tattered from the fall through the roof. My boots were splattered with melted dirty snow. I didn’t know what my face looked like, but probably horrible.  
  
Why did it matter? I’d never cared about things like that before. I'm not even sure if I liked Jason like that anymore - he was starting to feel more and more like a brother.  
  
I decided to focus on my ankle instead. As long as I didn’t move it, the pain wasn’t bad. “You did a good job,” I told Jason. “Where’d you learn first aid?”  
  
He shrugged. “Same answer as always. I don’t know.”  
  
“But you’re starting to have some memories, aren’t you? Like that prophecy in Latin back at camp, or that dream about the wolf.”  
  
“It’s fuzzy,” he said. “Like déjà vu. Ever forgotten a word or a name, and you know it should be on the tip of your tongue, but it isn’t? It’s like that - only with my whole life.”  
  
I sort of knew what he meant. The last three months - a life she thought she’d had, even a relationship with Jason - had turned out to be Mist.  
  
 _A boyfriend you never really had_ , Enceladus had said. _Is that more important than your own father?_  
  
I attempted to shake it off, and decided to change the topic.  
  
“That photo in your pocket,” I said. “Is that someone from your past?”  
  
Jason looked down.  
  
“I’m sorry,” I said. “None of my business. Forget it.”  
  
“No - it’s okay.” His features relaxed. “Just, I’m trying to figure things out. Her name’s Thalia. She’s my sister. My full sister. I don’t remember any details. I’m not even sure how I know, but I'm hoping Theodora can help me figure some things out about her. Annabeth said the three of them were close. Anyway, I get the feeling I’m supposed to find her. Hera left me that memory for a reason. It’s got something to do with this quest. But... I also have the feeling it could be dangerous. I’m not sure I want to find out the truth. Is that crazy?”

“No,” I said. “Not at all.”  
  
I stared at the logo on the wall: _monocle motors,_ the single red eye. Something about that logo bothered me.  
  
Maybe it was the idea Enceladus was watching me, holding my father for leverage. I had to save him, but how could I betray her friends?  
  
“Jason,” I said. “Speaking of the truth, I need to tell you something - something about my dad-”  
  
I didn’t get the chance. Somewhere below, metal clanged against metal, like a door slamming shut. The sound echoed through the warehouse.  
  
Jason stood. He took out his coin and flipped it, snatching his golden sword out of the air. He peered over the railing. “Leo?” he called.  
  
No answer.  
  
He crouched next to me. “I don’t like this.”  
  
“He could be in trouble,” I said. “Go check.”  
  
“I can’t leave you alone.”  
  
“I’ll be fine.” I felt terrified, but I wasn’t about to admit it. I even hoped my fear could somehow wake Theodora for some backup. I drew Katoptris and tried to look confident. “Anyone gets close, I’ll skewer them.”  
  
Jason hesitated. “I’ll leave you the pack. If I’m not back in five minutes-”  
  
“Panic?” I suggested.  
  
He managed a smile. “Glad you’re back to normal. The makeup and the dress were a lot more intimidating than the dagger.”  
  
“Get going before I skewer you.”  
  
He made his way to the stairs and disappeared into the dark, and I tried not to panic before the five minutes were over.  
  
I counted my breaths, trying to gauge how much time had passed. I lost track at around forty-three. Then something in the warehouse went _bang_!  
  
The echo died. My heart pounded, but I didn’t call out. My instincts told me it might not be a good idea.  
  
I stared at my splinted ankle. _It’s not like I can run_. Then I looked up again at the Monocle Motors sign. A little voice in my head pestered me, warning of danger. Something from Greek mythology...

My hand went to my backpack. I took out the ambrosia squares. Too much would burn me up, but would a little more fix my ankle?  
  
Boom. The sound was closer this time, directly below us. I dug out a whole square of ambrosia and stuffed it in my mouth. My heart raced faster. My skin felt feverish.  
  
Hesitantly, I flexed my ankle against the splint. No pain, no stiffness at all. I cut through the duct tape with my dagger and heard heavy steps on the stairs - like metal boots.  
  
Had it been five minutes? Longer? The steps didn’t sound like Jason, but maybe he was carrying Leo. Finally I couldn’t stand it. Gripping my dagger, I called out, “Jason?”  
  
“Yeah,” he said from the darkness. “On my way up.”  
  
Definitely Jason’s voice. So why did all my instincts say _Run_?  
  
With effort, I got to my feet and stepped in front of Theodora.  
  
The steps came closer.  
  
“It’s okay,” Jason’s voice promised.  
  
At the top of the stairs, a face appeared out of the darkness - a hideous black grin, a smashed nose, and a single bloodshot eye in the middle of his forehead.  
  
“It’s fine,” the Cyclops said, in a perfect imitation of Jason’s voice. “You’re just in time for dinner.”


	12. Chapter 12

**THEODORA**

“-Venus spawn. She’s using charmspeak on you.” My eyes fluttered open. I looked around to orient myself - three cyclopes, one female and two male, Piper hanging to my right and Jason, who seemed to be unconscious, to my left.  
  
Piper started to say, “Please, ma’am-”  
  
“Rarr!” The lady Cyclops grabbed Piper around the waist. “Don’t try your pretty talk on me, girl! I’m Ma Gasket! I’ve eaten heroes tougher than you for lunch!”  
  
I feared Piper would get crushed, but Ma Gasket just dropped her and let her dangle from her chain. Then she started yelling at one of the male cyclopes about how stupid he was. I zoned out - I'd seen movement near the door. Wait, was that Leo?!  
  
“-eat her last, Ma?” the male cyclops was saying. I tried to form a coherent plan, but the blood rushing to my head wasn't helping. I was probably going to pass out again before I'd be able to do something to help Leo. I didn't have the strength to shadow-travel - I really should have practiced that more at camp.  
  
“Idiot!” Ma Gasket yelled, and I realized the other two must be her sons, which confused me - cyclopes children usually survive on their own somewhere. It had happened to Tyson. “I should’ve thrown you out on the streets when you were babies, like proper Cyclops children. You might have learned some useful skills. Curse my soft heart that I kept you!”  
  
“Soft heart?” the other male cyclops muttered.  
  
“What was that, you ingrate?”  
  
“Nothing, Ma. I said you got a soft heart. We get to work for you, feed you, file your toenails-”  
  
“And you should be grateful!” Ma Gasket bellowed. “Now, stoke the fire, Torque! And Sump, you idiot, my case of salsa is in the other warehouse. Don’t tell me you expect me to eat these demigods without salsa!”  
  
“Yes, Ma,” Sump said. “I mean no, Ma. I mean-”  
  
“Go get it!” Ma Gasket picked up a nearby truck chassis and slammed it over Sump’s head. Sump crumpled to his knees. He managed to push the chassis off his head and staggered to his feet before running off to fetch the salsa.  
  
Piper gasped. I followed her gaze and saw she'd probably seen Leo too.  
  
Ma Gasket turned to her. “What’s the matter, girl? So fragile I broke you?”  
  
Thankfully, Piper was a quick thinker. She looked away from Leo and said, “I think it’s my ribs, ma’am.

"If she's busted up inside, she'll taste terrible," I added, and turned towards the cyclopes a little more - my hands were tied behind my back, but they hadn't taken my bracelet off. I just had to hope my throwing knives were enough to saw through the chains.  
  
Ma Gasket bellowed with laughter. “Good one. The last hero we ate - remember him, Torque? Son of Mercury, wasn’t he?”  
  
“Yes, Ma,” Torque said. “Tasty. Little bit stringy.”  
  
“He tried a trick like that. Said he was on medication. But he tasted fine!”  
  
“Tasted like mutton,” Torque recalled. “Purple shirt. Talked in Latin. Yes, a bit stringy, but good.”

I froze. Piper must have had the same thought I had, because she asked, “Purple shirt? Latin?”  
  
“Good eating,” Ma Gasket said fondly. “Point is, girl, we’re not as dumb as people think! We’re not falling for those stupid tricks and riddles, not us northern Cyclopes.”

I saw Leo working furiously from the corner of my eyes, but I couldn't look directly - if I stared, the cyclopes might notice. I had almost managed to adjust my hand to pluck a charm off of my bracelet.  
  
Piper kept talking, laying on the praise. “Oh, I’ve heard about the northern Cyclopes!” Which I figured was bull, but she sounded convincing. “I never knew you were so big and clever!”  
  
“Flattery won’t work either,” Ma Gasket said, though she sounded pleased. “It’s true, you’ll be breakfast for the best Cyclopes around.”  
  
“But aren’t Cyclopes good?” Piper asked. “I thought you made weapons for the gods.”  
  
“Bah! I’m very good. Good at eating people. Good at smashing. And good at building things, yes, but not for the gods. Our cousins, the elder Cyclopes, they do this, yes. Thinking they’re so high and mighty ’cause they’re a few thousand years older. Then there’s our southern cousins, living on islands and tending sheep. Morons! But we Hyperborean Cyclopes, the northern clan, we’re the best! Founded Monocle Motors in this old factory - the best weapons, armor, chariots, fuel - efficient SUVs! And yet - bah! Forced to shut down. Laid off most of our tribe. The war was too quick. Titans lost. No good! No more need for Cyclops weapons.”  
  
“Oh, no,” Piper sympathized. “I’m sure you made some amazing weapons.”  
  
Torque grinned. “Squeaky war hammer!” He picked up a large pole with an accordion-looking metal box on the end.  
  
He slammed it against the floor and the cement cracked, but there was also a sound like the world’s largest rubber ducky getting stomped.  
  
“Terrifying,” I said. I yanked at one of the grey crystals on my bracelet, and it transformed into a Stygian Iron throwing knife. I nicked myself on the wrist on accident, and bit my lip to stop myself from hissing out. I manoeuvered the knife away from my arm before it sucked my own soul out of my body.  
  
Torque looked pleased at my comment and talked as I started sawing through my chain. “Not as good as the exploding ax, but this one can be used more than once.”  
  
“Can I see it?” Piper asked. “If you could just free my hands-”  
  
Torque stepped forward eagerly, but Ma Gasket said, “Stupid! She’s tricking you again. Enough talk! Slay the boy first before he dies on his own. I like my meat fresh.”  
  
“Hey, wait,” Piper said, trying to get the Cyclopes’ attention. “Hey, can I just ask-”  
  
The wires sparked in Leo’s hand. The Cyclopes froze and turned in his direction. Then Torque picked up a truck and threw it at him.  
  
Leo rolled as the truck steamrolled over the machinery. If he’d been a half-second slower, he would’ve been smashed.  
  
He got to his feet, and Ma Gasket spotted him. She yelled, “Torque, you pathetic excuse for a Cyclops, get him!”  
  
Torque barreled toward him. Leo frantically gunned the toggle on his makeshift remote.  
  
Torque was fifty feet away. Twenty feet.  
  
Then a robotic arm whirred to life. A three-ton yellow metal claw slammed the Cyclops in the back so hard, he landed flat on his face. Before Torque could recover, the robotic hand grabbed him by one leg and hurled him straight up.  
  
“AHHHHH!” Torque rocketed into the gloom. The ceiling was too dark and too high up to see exactly what happened, but judging from the harsh metal clang, Leo guessed the Cyclops had hit one of the support girders.  
  
Torque never came down. Instead, yellow dust rained to the floor. Torque had disintegrated.  
  
Ma Gasket stared at Leo in shock. “My son... You... You...”  
  
As if on cue, Sump lumbered into the firelight with a case of salsa. “Ma, I got the extra-spicy-”  
  
He never finished his sentence. Leo spun the remote’s toggle, and another robotic arm whacked Sump in the chest. The salsa case exploded like a piñata and Sump flew backward, right into the base of Leo’s third machine. Sump may have been immune to getting hit with truck chasses, but he wasn’t immune to robotic arms that could deliver ten thousand pounds of force. The third crane arm slammed him against the floor so hard, he exploded into dust like a broken flour sack.  
  
Two Cyclopes down. Ma Gasket locked her eye on Leo. She grabbed the nearest crane arm and ripped it off its pedestal with a savage roar. “You busted my boys! Only I get to bust my boys!”  
  
Leo punched a button, and the two remaining arms swung into action. Ma Gasket caught the first one and tore it in half. The second arm smacked her in the head, but that only seemed to make her mad. She grabbed it by the clamps, ripped it free, and swung it like a baseball bat. It missed Piper, Jason and me by an inch. Then Ma Gasket let it go - spinning it toward Leo. He yelped and rolled to one side as it demolished the machine next to him.  
  
She stood about twenty feet from him now, next to the cooking fire. Her fists were clenched, her teeth bared. She looked ridiculous in her chain mail muumuu and her greasy pigtails - but given the murderous glare in her huge red eye and the fact that she was twelve feet tall, none of us were laughing.  
  
“Any more tricks, demigod?” Ma Gasket demanded.  
  
Leo glanced up. I focused on his fear - powering myself up incase I needed to play some mind tricks on Ma Gasket. I only hoped I wouldn't pass out before she was defeated.  
  
“Heck, yeah, I got tricks!” Leo raised his remote control. “Take one more step, and I’ll destroy you with fire!”  
  
Ma Gasket laughed. “Would you? Cyclopes are immune to fire, you idiot. But if you wish to play with flames, let me help!”  
  
She scooped red-hot coals into her bare hands and flung them at Leo. They landed all around his feet.  
  
“You missed,” he said incredulously. Then Ma Gasket grinned and picked up a barrel next to the truck. I just had time to read the stenciled word on the side - kerosene - before Ma Gasket threw it. The barrel split on the floor in front of him, spilling lighter fluid everywhere.  
  
Coals sparked. Leo closed his eyes, and Piper screamed, “No!”

"Leo!" I yelled. My chain was almost broken and I furiously kept sawing.   
  
A firestorm erupted around him.  
  
Ma Gasket shrieked with delight. The kerosene burned off, dying down to small fiery patches on the floor, and Leo was still standing, fully unharmed.  
  
Piper gasped. “Leo?”  
  
Ma Gasket looked astonished. “You live?” Then she took an extra step forward. “What are you?”  
  
“The son of Hephaestus,” Leo said. “And I warned you I’d destroy you with fire.”  
  
He pointed one finger in the air. He shot a bolt of white-hot flames at the chain suspending the engine block above the Cyclops’s head.  
  
The flames died. Nothing happened. Ma Gasket laughed. “An impressive try, son of Hephaestus. It’s been many centuries since I saw a fire user. You’ll make a spicy appetizer!”  
  
The chain snapped and the engine block fell, deadly and silent.  
  
“I don’t think so,” Leo said.  
  
Ma Gasket didn’t even have time to look up.  
  
 _Smash_! No more Cyclops - just a pile of dust under a five-ton engine block.  
  
“Not immune to engines, huh?” Leo said. “Boo-yah!”  
  
Then he fell to his knees, his head buzzing. A few minutes passed, Piper kept calling out to him. My chain finally snapped and I landed, rolling to absorb the impact.  
  
“Leo! Are you all right? Can you move?” I helped him get up.  
  
He stumbled on his feet. He was obviously completely drained.  
  
It took us a while to get Piper down from her chains. Then together we lowered Jason, who was still unconscious. I managed to trickle a little nectar into his mouth, and he groaned. The welt on his head started to shrink. His color came back a little.  
  
“Yeah, he’s got a nice thick skull,” Leo said. “I think he’s gonna be fine.”  
  
“Thank god,” Piper sighed. Then she looked at Leo with something that looked like fear, but I couldn't sense any on her - it must've been excitement. “How did you - the fire - have you always … ?”  
  
Leo looked down. “Always,” he said. “I’m a freaking menace. Sorry, I should’ve told you guys sooner but-”  
  
“Sorry?” Piper punched his arm. When he looked up, she was grinning. “That was amazing, Valdez! You saved our lives. What are you sorry about?”  
  
Leo blinked. He started to smile, but his sense of relief was ruined when he noticed something next to Piper’s foot. When I looked down, terror washed over me.  
  
Yellow dust - the powdered remains of one of the Cyclopes, maybe Torque - was shifting across the floor like an invisible wind was pushing it back together.  
  
“They’re forming again,” Leo said. “Look.”  
  
I stepped away from the dust. “That’s not possible. Monsters dissipate when they’re killed. They go back to Tartarus and can’t return for a long time - multiple decades if you're lucky..”  
  
“Well, nobody told the dust that.” Leo watched as it collected into a pile, then very slowly spread out, forming a shape with arms and legs.  
  
“Oh, god.” Piper turned pale. “Boreas said something about this - the earth yielding up horrors. ‘When monsters no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades.’ How long do you think we have?”  
  
“I don’t know,” I said. “But we need to get out of here.”


	13. Chapter 13

**THEODORA**

Jason's eyes snapped open. “Cyclops!”

  
“Whoa, sleepyhead.” Piper sat in front of him on the bronze dragon, with me behind him holding his waist to keep him balanced. Leo sat in front, driving. We flew peacefully through the winter sky as if nothing had happened.  
  
“D-Detroit,” Jason stammered. “Didn’t we crash-land? I thought-”  
  
“It’s okay,” Leo said. “We got away, but you got a nasty concussion. How you feeling?”  
  
“How did you - the Cyclops-”  
  
“Leo ripped them apart,” Piper said. “He was amazing. He can summon fire-”  
  
“It was nothing,” Leo said quickly.  
  
Piper laughed. “Shut up, Valdez. I’m going to tell him. Get over it.”  
  
And she did - how Leo single-handedly defeated the Cyclopes family; how they freed Jason, then noticed the Cyclopes starting to re-form; how Leo had replaced the dragon’s wiring and gotten them back in the air just as they’d started to hear the Cyclopes roaring for vengeance inside the factory.  
  
When Piper told him about the other kid the Cyclopes claimed to have eaten, the one in the purple shirt who spoke Latin, Jason looked like his head was going to explode.  
  
“I’m not alone, then,” he said. “There are others like me.”  
  
“Jason,” I said, “you were never alone. You’ve got us.”  
  
“I-I know... but something Hera said. I was having a dream...”  
  
He told us what he’d seen, and what the goddess had said inside her cage - how she was trapped and couldn't escape, and how Jason was part of an exchange.  
  
“An exchange?” Piper asked. “What does that mean?”  
  
Jason shook his head. “But Hera’s gamble is me. Just by sending me to Camp Half-Blood, I have a feeling she broke some kind of rule, something that could blow up in a big way-”  
  
“Or save us,” Piper said hopefully. “That bit about the sleeping enemy - that sounds like the lady Leo told us about.”  
  
Leo cleared his throat. “About that... she kind of appeared to me back in Detroit, in a pool of Porta-Potty sludge.”  
  
I frowned. “Did you say... Porta-Potty?” Jason sounded as confused as I felt.  
  
Leo told us about the big face in the factory yard. “I don’t know if she’s completely unkillable,” he said, “but she cannot be defeated by toilet seats. I can vouch for that. She wanted me to betray you guys, and I was like, ‘Pfft, right, I’m gonna listen to a face in the potty sludge.’”  
  
“She’s trying to divide us.” Piper ran a hand over her face.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Jason asked.  
  
“I just... Why are they toying with us? Who is this lady, and how is she connected to Enceladus?”  
  
“Enceladus?” Jason asked. I frowned - I vaguely knew who Enceladus was, but nobody had spoken his name once on this quest.  
  
“I mean...” Piper’s voice quavered. “That’s one of the giants. Just one of the names I could remember.”  
  
I got the feeling there was a lot more bothering her, but decided not to press her. She’d had a rough morning.  
  
Leo scratched his head. “Well, I dunno about Enchiladas-”  
  
“Enceladus,” Piper corrected.  
  
“Whatever. But Old Potty Face mentioned another name. Porpoise Fear, or something?”  
  
“Porphyrion?” I asked. “He was the giant king.”  
  
“I’m going to take wild guess,” Jason said. “In the old stories, Porphyrion kidnapped Hera. That was the first shot in the war between the giants and the gods.”  
  
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But those myths are really garbled and conflicted. It’s almost like nobody wanted that story to survive. I just know there was a war, and the giants were almost impossible to kill.”  
  
“Heroes and gods had to work together,” Jason said. “That’s what Hera told me.”  
  
“Kind of hard to do,” Leo grumbled, “if the gods won’t even talk to us.”  
  
We flew west, and I realized my arms were still wrapped around Jason. I almost pulled back, but he leaned against me a little, and I decided I didn't mind at all. I wasn’t sure how much time passed before the dragon dove through a break in the clouds, and below us, glittering in the winter sun, was a city at the edge of a massive lake. A crescent of skyscrapers lined the shore. Behind us, stretching out to the western horizon, was a vast grid of snow-covered neighborhoods and roads.  
  
“Chicago,” Jason said.  
  
“One problem down,” Leo said. “We got here alive. Now, how do we find the storm spirits?”  
  
I saw a flash of movement below us.  
  
“How about we follow that one,” Jason suggested, “and see where it goes?”

I was afraid we'd lose our target. The ventus moved like... well, like the wind.  
  
“Speed up!” Jason urged.  
  
“Bro,” Leo said, “if I get any closer, he’ll spot us. Bronze dragon ain’t exactly a stealth plane.”  
  
“Slow down!” Piper yelped.  
  
The storm spirit dove into the grid of downtown streets. Festus tried to follow, but his wingspan was way too wide. His left wing clipped the edge of a building, slicing off a stone gargoyle before Leo pulled up.  
  
“Get above the buildings,” Jason suggested. “We’ll track him from there.”

“You want to drive this thing?” Leo grumbled, but he did what Jason asked.  
  
After a few minutes, Jason spotted the storm spirit again, zipping through the streets with no apparent purpose - blowing over pedestrians, ruffling flags, making cars swerve.  
  
“Oh great,” Piper said. “There're two.”  
  
She was right. A second ventus blasted around the corner of the Renaissance Hotel and linked up with the first. They wove together in a chaotic dance, shooting to the top of a skyscraper, bending a radio tower, and diving back down toward the street.  
  
“Those guys do not need any more caffeine,” Leo said.  
  
“I guess Chicago’s a good place to hang out,” Piper said. “Nobody’s going to question a couple more evil winds.”  
  
“More than a couple,” Jason said. “Look.”  
  
The dragon circled over a wide avenue next to a lake-side park. Storm spirits were converging - at least a dozen of them, whirling around a big public art installation.  
  
“Which one do you think is Dylan?” Leo asked. “I wanna throw something at him.”  
  
But I was focused on the art installation. The closer we got to it, the more I could sense Jason's fear.  
  
As we watched, the image on the screens changed to a woman’s face with her eyes closed.  
  
“Leo...” Jason said nervously.  
  
“I see her,” Leo said. “I don’t like her, but I see her.”  
  
Then the screens went dark. The venti swirled together into a single funnel cloud and skittered across the fountain, kicking up a waterspout almost as high as the monoliths. They got to its center, popped off a drain cover, and disappeared underground.  
  
“Did they just go down a drain?” Piper asked. “How are we supposed to follow them?”  
  
“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Leo said. “That fountain thing is giving me seriously bad vibes. And aren’t we supposed to, like, beware the earth?"

Jason thought for a second.  
  
“Put us down in that park,” he suggested. “We’ll check it out on foot.”  
  
Festus landed in an open area between the lake and the skyline. The signs said Grant Park, and I imagined it would’ve been a nice place in the summer; but now it was a field of ice, snow, and salted walkways. The dragon’s hot metal feet hissed as they touched down. Festus flapped his wings unhappily and shot fire into the sky, but there was no one around to notice. The wind coming off the lake was bitter cold. Anyone with sense would be inside. My eyes stung so badly, I could barely see.  
  
We dismounted, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet. One of his ruby eyes flickered, so it looked like he was blinking.  
  
“Is that normal?” Jason asked.  
  
Leo pulled a rubber mallet from his tool bag. He whacked the dragon’s bad eye, and the light went back to normal. “Yes,” Leo said. “Festus can’t hang around here, though, in the middle of the park. They’ll arrest him for loitering. Maybe if I had a dog whistle...”  
  
He rummaged in his tool belt, but came up with nothing.  
  
“Too specialized?” he guessed. “Okay, give me a safety whistle. They got that in lots of machine shops.”  
  
This time, Leo pulled out a big plastic orange whistle. “Coach Hedge would be jealous! Okay, Festus, listen.” Leo blew the whistle. The shrill sound probably rolled all the way across Lake Michigan. “You hear that, come find me, okay? Until then, you fly wherever you want. Just try not to barbecue any pedestrians.”  
  
The dragon snorted - hopefully in agreement. Then he spread his wings and launched into the air.  
  
Piper took one step and winced. “Ah!”  
  
“Your ankle?” I realized I'd forgotten she told me her ankle had broken, and instantly felt bad. “That nectar we gave you might be wearing off.”  
  
“It’s fine.” She shivered, and I shrugged off my leather jacker, leaving me in a shirt with a black sweater on top. The three of them looked at me dubiously. "What? I'm cold no matter what I wear, might as well have one of us be warm." Piper slipped on the jacket with a small grateful smile.  
  
“Let’s get out of the wind,” Jason suggested.  
  
“Down a drain?” Piper shuddered. “Sounds cozy.”  
  
We wrapped themselves up as best we could and headed toward the fountain.


	14. Chapter 14

**JASON**

According to the plaque, it was called Crown Fountain. All the water had emptied out except for a few patches that were starting to freeze. It didn’t seem right to me that the fountain would have water in it in the winter anyway. Then again, those big monitors had flashed the face of their mysterious enemy Dirt Woman. Nothing about this place was right.  
  
We stepped to the center of the pool. No spirits tried to stop us. The giant monitor walls stayed dark. The drain hole was easily big enough for a person, and a maintenance ladder led down into the gloom.  
  
I went first. As I climbed, I braced myself for horrible sewer smells, but it wasn’t that bad. The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.  
  
Piper, Theodora and Leo climbed down after him.  
  
“Are all sewers this nice?” Piper wondered.  
  
“No,” Leo said. “Trust me.”  
  
Jason frowned. “How do you know-”  
  
“Hey, man, I ran away six times. I’ve slept in some weird places, okay? Now, which way do we go?”  
  
Jason tilted his head, listening, then pointed south. “That way.”  
  
“How can you be sure?” Piper asked.  
  
“There’s a draft blowing south,” Jason said. “Maybe the venti went with the flow.”  
  
It wasn’t much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better.  
  
Unfortunately, as soon as they started walking, Piper stumbled. Theodora had to catch her.  
  
“Stupid ankle,” she cursed.  
  
“Let’s rest,” Jason decided. “We could all use it. We’ve been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?”  
  
“Thought you’d never ask. Chef Leo is on it!”  
  
Piper, Theodora and me sat on a brick ledge while Leo shuffled through his pack.  
  
I was glad to rest. I was still tired and dizzy, and hungry, too. I'd almost fallen asleep on Festus, leaning onto Theodora's chest and watching the clouds pass by. I wasn’t eager to face whatever lay ahead. I turned my gold coin in my fingers.  
  
 _If you are to die_ , Hera had warned, _it will be by her hand_.  
  
Whoever “her” was. After Khione, the Cyclops mother, and the weird sleeping lady, the last thing I needed was another psycho villainess in my life.  
  
“It wasn’t your fault,” Theodora said.  
  
I looked at her blankly. “What?”  
  
“Getting jumped by the Cyclopes,” she said. “It wasn’t your fault.”  
  
I looked down at the coin in his palm. “I was stupid. I left you alone and walked into a trap. I should’ve known...”  
  
I didn’t finish. There were too many things I should have known - who I was, how to fight monsters, how Cyclopes lured their victims by mimicking voices and hiding in shadows and a hundred other tricks. All that information was supposed to be in my head. I could feel the places it should be - like empty pockets. If Hera wanted me to succeed, why had she stolen the memories that could help me? She claimed my amnesia had kept me alive, but that made no sense. I was starting to understand why Annabeth had wanted to leave the goddess in her cage.  
  
“Hey.” Theodora nudged my arm. “Cut yourself some slack. Just because you’re the son of Zeus doesn’t mean you’re a one-man army.”  
  
A few feet away, Leo lit a small cooking fire. He hummed as he pulled supplies out of his pack and his tool belt.  
  
In the firelight, Theodora's eyes seemed so warm. I had been studying them for days now, and I still couldn’t decide how such dark black eyes could be so warm and full of life. I turned to Piper.  
  
“I know this must suck for you,” I said. “Not just the quest, I mean. The way I appeared on the bus, the Mist messing with your mind, and making you think I was... you know.”  
  
She dropped her gaze. “Yeah, well. None of us asked for this. It’s not your fault.”  
  
She tugged at the little braids on each side of her head. I’d never thought of beauty as a form of power, but that’s the way Piper looked when Aphrodite had blessed her - powerful.  
  
I liked regular Piper better - someone I could hang out with.  
  
“Back in the factory,” I said, “you were you going to say something about your dad.”  
  
She traced her finger over the bricks, almost like she was writing out a scream she didn’t want to vocalize. “Was I?”  
  
“Piper,” Theodora said, “he’s in some kind of trouble, isn’t it?”  
  
Over at the fire, Leo stirred some sizzling bell peppers and meat in a pan. “Yeah, baby! Almost there.”  
  
Piper looked on the verge of tears. “Jason, Dor... I can’t talk about it.”  
  
“We’re your friends. Let us help.” Theodora put her hand on Piper's arm as she spoke - pale, bony fingers wrapping around russet skin.  
  
That seemed to make her feel worse. She took a shaky breath. “I wish I could, but-”  
  
“And bingo!” Leo announced.  
  
He came over with four plates stacked on his arms like a waiter. I had no idea where he’d gotten all the food, or how he’d put it together so fast, but it looked amazing: pepper and beef tacos with chips and salsa.  
  
“Leo,” Piper said in amazement. “How did you-?”  
  
“Chef Leo’s Taco Garage is fixing you up!” he said proudly. “And by the way, it’s tofu, not beef, girls, so don’t freak. Just dig in!”  
  
I wasn’t sure about tofu, but the tacos tasted as good as they smelled. While we ate, Leo tried to lighten the mood and joke around. I was grateful Leo and Piper were with us. It made being with Theodora a little less intense - I still didn't know how I felt about feeling like this around her. At the same time, I kind of wished I was alone with her; but I chided myself for feeling that way.  
  
After Piper ate, Theodora encouraged her to get some sleep. Without another word, she curled up and put her head on Theodora's backpack. In two seconds she was snoring.  
  
Jason looked up at Leo, who was obviously trying not to laugh.  
  
They sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking lemonade Leo had made from canteen water and powdered mix.  
  
“Good, huh?” Leo grinned.  
  
“You should start a stand,” Jason said. “Make some serious coin.”

But as I stared at the embers of the fire, something began to bother me. “Leo... about this fire stuff you can do... is it true?”  
  
Leo’s smile faltered. “Yeah, well …” He opened his hand. A small ball of flame burst to life, dancing across his palm.  
  
“That is so cool,” Jason said. “Why didn’t you say anything?”  
  
Leo closed his hand and the fire went out. “Didn’t want to look like a freak.”  
  
“I have lightning and wind powers,” I reminded him. “Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. Theo can see your biggest fears and trauma's-" "And make you relive them," She added. I'd noticed she scrunched up the bridge of her nose when I called her that, and I'd felt my heart do a little tap-dance. I turned back to Leo.

"You’re no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell, ‘Flame on!’”  
  
Leo snorted. “If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than ‘Flame on!’ Trust me, Hephaestus cabin doesn’t see fire powers as cool. Nyssa told me they’re super rare. When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen. Really bad.”  
  
“Maybe it’s the other way around,” I suggested. “Maybe people with special gifts show up when bad things are happening because that’s when they’re needed most.”  
  
Leo cleared away the plates. “Maybe. But I’m telling you... it’s not always a gift.”  
  
I fell silent. “You’re talking about your mom, aren’t you? The night she died.” I looked at Theo in surprise - I hadn't thought of that.  
  
Leo didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. The fact that he was quiet, not joking around - that told us enough.  
  
“Leo, her death wasn’t your fault. Whatever happened that night - it wasn’t because you could summon fire. Dirt Woman has been trying to ruin you for years, mess up your confidence, take away everything you care about. She’s trying to make you feel like a failure. You’re not. You’re important.” Theo put her hand on his arm as she spoke, like she'd done with Piper.  
  
“That’s what she said.” Leo looked up, his eyes full of pain. “She said I was meant to do something important - something that would make or break that big prophecy about the seven demigods. That’s what scares me. I don’t know if I’m up to it.” Theodora squeezed his arm, and silence fell upon us.

If you asked most kids, “Hey, you want to summon fire or lightning or magical makeup, or scare bullies away?” they’d think it sounded pretty cool. But those powers went along with hard stuff, like sitting in a sewer in the middle of winter, running from monsters, losing your memory, watching your friends almost get cooked, and having dreams that warned you of your own death.  
  
Leo poked at the remnants of his fire, turning over red-hot coals with his bare hand. “You ever wonder about the other four demigods? I mean... if we’re four of the ones from the Great Prophecy, who are the others? Where are they?”  
  
I had thought about it, all right, but tried to push it out of my mind. I had a horrible suspicion that I would be expected to lead those other demigods, and I was afraid to fail.  
  
 _You’ll tear each other apart_ , Boreas had promised.  
  
I had been trained never to show fear. I was sure of that from my dream with the wolves, proving what Theo had said to me that day in her cabin. I was supposed to act confident, even if I didn’t feel it. But Theo, Piper and Leo were depending on me, and I was terrified of failing them. If I had to lead a group of seven - seven who might not get along - that would be even worse.  
  
“I don’t know,” I said at last. “I guess the other four will show up when the time is right. Who knows? Maybe they’re on some other quest right now.”  
  
Leo grunted. “I bet their sewer is nicer than ours.”  
  
The draft picked up, blowing toward the south end of the tunnel.  
  
“Get some rest, guys,” I said. “I’ll take first watch.” Leo laid his head on his backpack and was out in a minute or so.

"You too, Theo. You need rest." Her nose scrunched up again, and I decided I liked calling her Theo. She looked up at me with those big eyes. "Trust me, I know. But my powers are stronger when it's night, because my mom is a child of Nyx, so I'm rarely ever able to relax at night." She sighed softly. I moved her white bangs out of her eyes, and twirled a lock of it around my fingers.

"Is it naturally white?" I realized I'd spoken my thoughts aloud, but she didn't get mad. "It didn't use to be. It was as black as my eyes, but holding the sky - long story - took a little more effect on me than it did on Percy and Annabeth; they just ended up with a grey streak in their hair which had faded nearly completely by the time he disappeared." She rested her head against my arm, being just a little too short to put it on my shoulder, and stared at the wall. I put my arm around her and she leaned into my chest.

After a long silence, her breathing evened out and her eyes slowly closed.  
  
It was hard to measure time, but I figured his friends slept about four hours. I didn’t mind. Now that I was resting, I didn’t really feel the need for more sleep. I’d been conked out long enough on the dragon. Plus, I needed time to think about the quest, my sister Thalia, and Hera’s warnings. I also didn’t mind Theo using my chest for a pillow. She breathed differently when she slept - slow, long breaths. When she was awake, it always kind of sounded like she was panicking: her breaths were short and fast, though remarkably silent for someone whose chest moved as if she was having a panic attack. I was kind of disappointed when she woke up.  
  
Finally we broke camp and started down the tunnel.  
  
It twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the end - a dungeon, a mad scientist’s lab, or maybe a sewer reservoir where all Porta-Potty sludge ends up, forming an evil toilet face large enough to swallow the world.  
  
Instead, we found polished steel elevator doors, each one engraved with a cursive letter M. Next to the elevator was a directory, like for a department store.  
  
“M for Macy’s?” Piper guessed. “I think they have one in downtown Chicago.”  
  
“Or Monocle Motors still?” Leo said. “Guys, read the directory. It’s messed up.”  
  
Parking, Kennels, Main Entrance: Sewer Level  
  
Furnishings and Café M: 1  
  
Women’s Fashion and Magical Appliances: 2  
  
Men’s Wear and Weaponry: 3  
  
Cosmetics, Potions, Poisons & Sundries: 4  
  
“Kennels for what?” Piper said. “And what kind of department store has its entrance in a sewer?”  
  
“Or sells poisons,” Leo said. “Man, what does ‘sundries’ even mean? Is that like underwear?”  
  
Jason took a deep breath. “When in doubt, start at the top.”


	15. Chapter 15

**THEODORA**

The doors slid open on the fourth floor, and the scent of perfume wafted into the elevator. Jason stepped out first, sword ready.  
  
“Guys,” he said. “You’ve got to see this.”  
  
I joined him and caught my breath. “This is not Macy’s.” I stifled a small laugh at Piper's comment.  
  
The department store looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope. The entire ceiling was a stained glass mosaic with astrological signs around a giant sun. The daylight streaming through it washed everything in a thousand different colors. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge central atrium, so we could see all the way down to the ground floor. Gold railings glittered so brightly, they were hard to look at.  
  
Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, I couldn’t see any other windows or doors, but two sets of glass escalators ran between the levels. The carpeting was a riot of oriental patterns and colors, and the racks of merchandise were just as bizarre. There was too much to take it at once, but I saw normal stuff like shirt racks and shoe trees mixed in with armored manikins, beds of nails, and fur coats that seemed to be moving.  
  
Leo stepped to the railing and looked down. “Check it out.”  
  
In the middle of the atrium a fountain sprayed water twenty feet into the air, changing color from red to yellow to blue. The pool glittered with gold coins, and on either side of the fountain stood a gilded cage - like an oversize canary cage.  
  
Inside one, a miniature hurricane swirled, and lightning flashed. Somebody had imprisoned the storm spirits, and the cage shuddered as they tried to get out. In the other, frozen like a statue, was a short, buff satyr, holding a tree-branch club.  
  
“Coach Hedge!” Piper said. “We’ve got to get down there.”  
  
A voice said, “May I help you find something?”  
  
All four of us jumped back.  
  
A woman had just appeared in front of us. She wore an elegant black dress with diamond jewelry, and she looked like a retired fashion model - maybe fifty years old, though it was hard for me to judge. Her long dark hair swept over one shoulder, and her face was gorgeous in that surreal super-model way - thin and haughty and cold, not quite human. Her sharp cheekbones could give my anorexic-looking ones a run for their money. With their long red-painted nails, her fingers looked more like talons.  
  
She smiled. “I’m so happy to see new customers. How may I help you?”  
  
Leo glanced at Jason like, _All yours_.  
  
“Um,” Jason started, “is this your store?”  
  
The woman nodded. “I found it abandoned, you know. I understand so many stores are, these days. I decided it would make the perfect place. I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people, and offering quality goods at a reasonable price. So this seemed a good... how do you say... first acquisition in this country.”  
  
She spoke with a pleasing accent, but I couldn’t guess where from. It sounded vaguely mediterranean. She didn't seem to be hostile, but something felt off. Jason started to relax though.  
  
“So you’re new to America?” he asked.  
  
“I am... new,” the woman agreed. “I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now, what are you looking for?”  
  
Gears started working in my head - Colchis was gone and had been for a very long time.  
  
Piper poked Jason in the ribs. “Jason...”  
  
“Um, right. Actually, Your Highness...” He pointed to the gilded cage on the first floor. “That’s our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge. The satyr. Could we... have him back, please?”  
  
“Of course!” the princess agreed immediately. “I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know your names?”  
  
I shook my head at him. “Jason, I wouldn’t-”  
  
“This is Piper,” he said. “This is Leo and that's Theodora. I’m Jason.”  
  
The princess fixed her eyes on him and, just for a moment, her face literally glowed, blazing with so much anger, I could see her skull beneath her skin.

“Jason. What an interesting name,” she said, her eyes as cold as the Chicago wind. “I think we’ll have to make a special deal for you. Come, children. Let’s go shopping.”

You meet a Piper and a Theodora, but Jason's the weird name?

My mind started to whir, but this lady couldn't be who I was thinking of - that woman had been dead for a very long time.  
  
On the other hand, we couldn't attack the weird princess now. Jason and Leo didn’t even seem to think anything was wrong.  
  
The princess gestured toward the cosmetics counter. “Shall we start with the potions?”  
  
“Cool,” Jason said.  
  
“Guys,” Piper interrupted, “we’re here to get the storm spirits and Coach Hedge. If this - princess - is really our friend-”

“Oh, I’m better than a friend, my dear,” Her Highness said. “I’m a saleswoman.” Her diamonds sparkled, and her eyes glittered like a snake’s - cold and dark. “Don’t worry. We’ll work our way down to the first floor, eh?”  
  
Leo nodded eagerly. “Sure, yeah! That sounds okay. Right, Piper?”  
  
Piper did her best to stare daggers at him: _No, it is not okay!_  
  
“Of course it’s okay.” Her Highness put her hands on Leo’s and Jason’s shoulders and steered them toward the cosmetics. “Come along, boys.”  
  
Piper and I didn’t have much choice except to follow.  
  
“And here,” the princess said, “is the finest assortment of magical mixtures anywhere.”  
  
The counter was crammed with bubbling beakers and smoking vials on tripods. Lining the display shelves were crystal flasks - some shaped like swans or honey bear dispensers. The liquids inside were every color, from glowing white to polka-dotted. And the smells - ugh! Some were pleasant, like fresh-baked cookies or roses, but they were mixed with the scents of burning tires, skunk spray, and gym lockers.  
  
The princess pointed to a bloodred vial - a simple test tube with a cork stopper. “This one will heal any disease.”  
  
“Even cancer?” Leo asked. “Leprosy? Hangnails?”  
  
“Any disease, sweet boy. And this vial” - she pointed to a swan-shaped container with blue liquid inside - “will kill you very painfully.”  
  
“Awesome,” Jason said. His voice sounded dazed and sleepy.  
  
“Jason,” Piper said. “We’ve got a job to do. Remember?” Her voice sounded shaky - her attempt was brave, but wouldn't work. At least I knew Piper knew something was up too.

“Job to do,” Jason muttered. “Sure. But shopping first, okay?”  
  
The princess beamed at him. “Then we have potions for resisting fire-”  
  
“Got that covered,” Leo said.  
  
“Indeed?” The princess studied Leo’s face more closely. “You don’t appear to be wearing my trademark sunscreen... but no matter. We also have potions that cause blindness, insanity, sleep, or-”  
  
“Wait.” Piper was still staring at the red vial. “Could that potion cure lost memory?”  
  
The princess narrowed her eyes. “Possibly. Yes. Quite possibly. Why, my dear? Have you forgotten something important?”  
  
Piper kept a neutral expression, but I could guess what she was thinking - Jason's amnesia. Hera must've taken those memories for a reason, but Jason always looked so anguished when he tried to remember things. I hated seeing him that way.  
  
“How much?” Piper asked.  
  
The princess got a faraway look in her eyes. “Well, now... The price is always tricky. I love helping people. Honestly, I do. And I always keep my bargains, but sometimes people try to cheat me.” Her gaze drifted to Jason. “Once, for instance, I met a handsome young man who wanted a treasure from my father’s kingdom. We made a bargain, and I promised to help him steal it.”  
  
“From your own dad?” Jason still looked half in a trance, but the idea seemed to bother him. I, on the other hand, was growing more and more certain this princess was who I first thought of, and it scared the Hades out of me.  
  
“Oh, don’t worry,” the princess said. “I demanded a high price. The young man had to take me away with him. He was quite good-looking, dashing, strong...” She looked at me. “I’m sure, my dear, you understand how one might be attracted to such a hero, and want to help him.”  
  
I probably blushed. I got the creepiest feeling the princess could read my thoughts, which the myths never mentioned.

“At any rate,” Her Highness continued, “my hero had to do many impossible tasks, and I’m not bragging when I say he couldn’t have done them without me. I betrayed my own family to win the hero his prize. And still he cheated me of my payment.”  
  
“Cheated?” Jason frowned, as if trying to remember something important.  
  
“That’s messed up,” Leo said.  
  
Her Highness patted his cheek affectionately. “I’m sure you don’t need to worry, Leo. You seem honest. You would always pay a fair price, wouldn’t you?”  
  
Leo nodded. “What were we buying again? I’ll take two.”  
  
Piper broke in: “So, the vial, Your Highness - how much?”  
  
The princess assessed Piper’s clothes, her face, her posture, as if putting a price tag on one slightly used demigod.  
  
“Would you give anything for it, my dear?” the princess asked. She turned to me. “I sense that you might.”

I felt a spell wash over me, but as always, it didn't do much. For some reason, Chiron had told me once, children of gods and goddesses who personify emotions have a natural resistance over Charmspeak.  
  
Piper looked conflicted for a moment. “No, we won’t pay any price. But a fair price, maybe. After that, we need to leave. Right, guys?”  
  
Just for a moment, her words seemed to have some effect. The boys looked confused.  
  
“Leave?” Jason said.  
  
“You mean... after shopping?” Leo asked.  
  
I wanted to scream, but the princess tilted her head, examining Piper with newfound respect.  
  
“Impressive,” the princess said. “Not many people could resist my suggestions. Are you a child of Aphrodite, my dear? Ah, yes - I should have seen it. No matter. Perhaps we should shop a while longer before you decide what to buy, eh?” I felt a little miffed she ignored me, but I was used to it - children of minor gods and goddesses get ignored a lot.  
  
“But the vial-”  
  
“Now, boys.” She turned to Jason and Leo. Her voice was so much more powerful than Piper’s, so full of confidence, Piper didn’t stand a chance. “Would you like to see more?”  
  
“Sure,” Jason said.  
  
“Okay,” Leo said.  
  
“Excellent,” the princess said. “You’ll need all the help you can get if you’re to make it to the Bay Area.”  
  
Piper’s hand moved to her dagger.  
  
“The Bay Area?” Piper said. “Why the Bay Area?”  
  
The princess smiled. “Well, that’s where they’ll die, isn’t it?”  
  
Then she led them toward the escalators, Jason and Leo still looking excited to shop.

I shot Piper a questioning look. "I'll explain later, I promise."  
  
We cornered the princess together as Jason and Leo went off to check out the living fur coats.  
  
“You want them shopping for their deaths?” Piper demanded.  
  
“Mmm.” The princess blew dust off a display case of swords. “I’m a seer, my dear. I know your little secret. But we don’t want to dwell on that, do we? The boys are having such fun.”  
  
Leo laughed as he tried on a hat that seemed to be made from enchanted raccoon fur. Its ringed tail twitched, and its little legs wiggled frantically as Leo walked. Jason was ogling the men’s sportswear. Boys interested in shopping for clothes? A definite sign they were under an evil spell.  
  
Piper glared at the princess. “Who are you?”  
  
“I told you, my dear. I’m the Princess of Colchis.”  
  
“Where’s Colchis?”  
  
The princess’s expression turned a little sad. “Where was Colchis, you mean. My father ruled the far shores of the Black Sea, as far to the east as a Greek ship could sail in those days. But Colchis is no more—lost eons ago.”  
  
“Eons?” Piper asked. “How old are you?”  
  
The princess laughed. “A lady should avoid asking or answering that question. Let’s just say the, ah, immigration process to enter your country took quite a while. My patron finally brought me through. She made all this possible.” The princess swept her hand around the department store.  
  
Piper’s mouth tasted like metal. “Your patron...”  
  
“Oh, yes. She doesn’t bring just anyone through, mind you - only those who have special talents, such as me. And really, she insists on so little - a store entrance that must be underground so she can, ah, monitor my clientele; and a favor now and then. In exchange for a new life? Really, it was the best bargain I’d made in centuries.”

I'd been right all along. We had to get out of there.  
  
Jason called, “Hey, check it out!”  
  
From a rack labeled distressed clothing, he held up a purple T-shirt like the one he’d worn on the school field trip - except this shirt looked as if it had been clawed by tigers.  
  
Jason frowned. “Why does this look so familiar?”  
  
“Jason, it’s like yours,” Piper said. “Now we really have to leave.” But I wasn’t sure he could even hear her anymore through the princess’s enchantment.  
  
“Nonsense,” the princess said. “The boys aren’t done, are they? And yes, my dear. Those shirts are very popular - trade-ins from previous customers. It suits you.”  
  
Leo picked up an orange Camp Half-Blood tee with a hole through the middle, as if it had been hit by a javelin. Next to that was a dented bronze breastplate pitted with corrosion - acid. That breastplate had been Clarisse's, taken by Silena in the war to mislead the Ares cabin. She'd worn it when she died, and I had to compose myself for a second. A Roman toga slashed to pieces and stained with something that looked disturbingly like dried blood hung next to it.

“Your Highness,” I said. “Why don’t you tell the boys how you betrayed your family? I’m sure they’d like to hear that story.”  
  
The boys turned, suddenly interested.  
  
“More story?” Leo asked.  
  
“I like more story!” Jason agreed. They sounded like toddlers  
  
The princess flashed me an irritated look. “Oh, one will do strange things for love, Theodora. You should know that." She turned to glare at Piper. "I fell for that young hero, in fact, because your mother Aphrodite had me under a spell. If it wasn’t for her - but I can’t hold a grudge against a goddess, can I?”  
  
The princess’s tone made her meaning clear: _I can take it out on you_.  
  
“But that hero took you with him when he fled Colchis,” Piper remembered. “Didn’t he, Your Highness? He married you just as he promised.”  
  
The look in the princess’s eyes made me want to run away, but I stayed my ground.  
  
“At first,” Her Highness admitted, “it seemed he would keep his word. But even after I helped him steal my father’s treasure, he still needed my help. As we fled, my brother’s fleet came after us. His warships overtook us. He would have destroyed us, but I convinced my brother to come aboard our ship first and talk under a flag of truce. He trusted me.”  
  
“And you killed your own brother,” I said.  
  
“What?” Jason stirred. For a moment he looked almost like himself. “Killed your own-”  
  
“No,” the princess snapped. “Those stories are lies. It was my new husband and his men who killed my brother, though they couldn’t have done it without my deception. They threw his body into the sea, and the pursuing fleet had to stop and search for it so they could give my brother a proper burial. This gave us time to get away. All this, I did for my husband. And he forgot our bargain. He betrayed me in the end.”  
  
Jason still looked uncomfortable. “What did he do?”  
  
The princess held the sliced-up toga against Jason’s chest, as if measuring him for an assassination. “Don’t you know the story, my boy? You of all people should. You were named for him.”  
  
“Jason,” Piper said. “The original Jason. But then you’re - you should be dead!”  
  
The princess smiled. “As I said, a new life in a new country. Certainly I made mistakes. I turned my back on my own people. I was called a traitor, a thief, a liar, a murderess. But I acted out of love.” She turned to the boys and gave them a pitiful look, batting her eyelashes. I could sense the sorcery washing over them, taking control more firmly than ever.  
  
“Wouldn’t you do the same for someone you loved, my dears?”  
  
“Oh, sure,” Jason said. He looked at me for a moment, and I'm sure my cheeks were as red as Medea's fingernails.  
  
“Okay,” Leo said.  
  
“Guys!” Piper ground her teeth in frustration. “Don’t you see who she is? Don’t you-”  
  
“Let’s continue, shall we?” the princess said breezily. “I believe you wanted to talk about a price for the storm spirits - and your satyr.”  
  
Leo got distracted on the second floor with the appliances.  
  
“No way,” he said. “Is that an armored forge?”  
  
Before we could stop him, he hopped off the escalator and ran over to a big oval oven that looked like a barbecue on steroids.  
  
When we caught up with him, the princess said, “You have good taste. This is the H-2000, designed by Hephaestus himself. Hot enough to melt Celestial bronze or Imperial gold.”  
  
Jason flinched as if he recognized that term. “Imperial gold?”  
  
The princess nodded. “Yes, my dear. Like that weapon so cleverly concealed in your pocket. To be properly forged, Imperial gold had to be consecrated in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill in Rome. Quite a powerful and rare metal, but like the Roman emperors, quite volatile. Be sure never to break that blade...” She smiled pleasantly. “Rome was after my time, of course, but I do hear stories. And now over here - this golden throne is one of my finest luxury items. Hephaestus made it as a punishment for his mother, Hera. Sit in it and you’ll be immediately trapped.”  
  
Leo apparently took this as an order. He began walking toward it in a trance.  
  
“Leo, don’t!” Piper warned.  
  
He blinked. “How much for both?”  
  
“Oh, the seat I could let you have for five great deeds. The forge, seven years of servitude. And for only a bit of your strength-” She led Leo into the appliance section, giving him prices on various items.  
  
Piper left after them, looking back to me and pointing at Jason.

I pulled him aside by the arm and slapped him on the cheek.  
  
“Ow,” he muttered sleepily. “What was that for?”  
  
“Snap out of it!” I hissed.  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“She’s charmspeaking you. Can’t you feel it?”  
  
He knit his eyebrows. “She seems okay.”  
  
“She’s not okay! She shouldn’t even be alive! She was married to Jason - the original Jason - three thousand years ago. Remember what Boreas said - something about the souls no longer being confined to Hades? It’s not just monsters who can’t stay dead. She’s come back from the Underworld!”  
  
Jason shook his head uneasily. “She’s not a ghost.”  
  
“No, she’s worse! She’s-”  
  
“Children.” The princess was back with Leo in tow. Piper stomped after her, looking highly frustrated. “If you please, we will now see what you came for. That is what you want, yes?”  
  
I had to choke back a scream.  
  
we took the escalator down to the base of the fountain. For the first time, I noticed two large bronze sundials - each about the size of a trampoline - inlaid on the marble tile floor to the north and south of the fountain. The gilded oversize canary cages stood to the east and west, and the farthest one held the storm spirits. They were so densely packed, spinning around like a super-concentrated tornado, that Piper couldn’t tell how many there were - dozens, at least.  
  
“Hey,” Leo said, “Coach Hedge looks okay!”  
  
They ran to the nearest canary cage. The old satyr seemed to have been petrified at the moment he was sucked into the sky above the Grand Canyon. He was frozen mid-shout, his club raised over his head like he was ordering the gym class to drop and give him fifty. His curly hair stuck up at odd angles.  
  
“Yes,” the princess said. “I always keep my wares in good condition. We can certainly barter for the storm spirits and the satyr. A package deal. If we come to terms, I’ll even throw in the vial of healing potion, and you can go in peace.” She gave Piper and me a shrewd look. “That’s better than starting unpleasantness, isn’t it, dears?”  
  
“We can negotiate,” I said.  
  
“Totally!” Leo agreed. “Name your price.”  
  
“Leo!” Piper snapped.  
  
The princess chuckled. “Name my price? Perhaps not the best haggling strategy, my boy, but at least you know a thing’s value. Freedom is very valuable indeed. You would ask me to release this satyr, who attacked my storm winds-”  
  
“Who attacked us,” Piper interjected.  
  
Her Highness shrugged. “As I said, my patron asks me for small favors from time to time. Sending the storm spirits to abduct you - that was one. I assure you it was nothing personal. And no harm done, as you came here, in the end, of your own free will! At any rate, you want the satyr freed, and you want my storm spirits - who are very valuable servants, by the way - so you can hand them over to that tyrant Aeolus. Doesn’t seem quite fair, does it? The price will be high.”  
  
I could see that our friends were ready to offer anything, promise anything. Before they could speak, we played our last card.  
  
“You’re Medea,” I said. “You helped the original Jason steal the Golden Fleece. You’re one of the most evil villains in Greek mythology."

"Jason, Leo - don’t trust her.” Piper sounded so powerful, and it seemed to have a little effect this time.  
  
Leo scratched his head and looked around like he was coming out of a dream.  
  
“What are we doing, again?”  
  
“Boys!” The princess spread her hands in a welcoming gesture. Her diamond jewelry glittered, and her painted fingers curled like blood-tipped claws. “It’s true, I’m Medea. But I’m so misunderstood. Oh, Piper, Theodora, my dears, you don’t know what it was like for women in the old days. We had no power, no leverage. Often we couldn’t even choose our own husbands. But I was different. I chose my own destiny by becoming a sorceress. Is that so wrong? I made a pact with Jason: my help to win the fleece, in exchange for his love. A fair deal. He became a famous hero! Without me, he would’ve died unknown on the shores of Colchis.”  
  
Jason - our Jason - scowled. “Then... you really did die three thousand years ago? You came back from the Underworld?”  
  
“Death no longer holds me, young hero,” Medea said. “Thanks to my patron, I am flesh and blood again.”  
  
“You... re-formed?” Leo blinked. “Like a monster?”  
  
Medea spread her fingers, and steam hissed from her nails, like water splashed on hot iron. “You have no idea what’s happening, do you, my dears? It is so much worse than a stirring of monsters from Tartarus. My patron knows that giants and monsters are not her greatest servants. I am mortal. I learn from my mistakes. And now that I have returned to the living, I will not be cheated again. Now, here is my price for what you ask.”  
  
“Guys,” Piper said. “The original Jason left Medea because she was crazy and bloodthirsty.”  
  
“Lies!” Medea said.  
  
“On the way back from Colchis, Jason’s ship landed at another kingdom, and Jason agreed to dump Medea and marry the king’s daughter.”  
  
“After I bore him two children!” Medea said. “Still he broke his promise! I ask you, was that right?”  
  
Jason and Leo dutifully shook their heads, but we weren't through.

“It may not have been right,” I said, “but neither was Medea’s revenge. She murdered her own children to get back at Jason. She poisoned his new wife and fled the kingdom.”  
  
Medea snarled. “An invention to ruin my reputation! The people of the Corinth - that unruly mob - killed my children and drove me out. Jason did nothing to protect me. He robbed me of everything. So yes, I sneaked back into the palace and poisoned his lovely new bride. It was only fair - a suitable price.”  
  
“You’re insane,” Piper said.  
  
“I am the victim!” Medea wailed. “I died with my dreams shattered, but no longer. I know now not to trust heroes. When they come asking for treasures, they will pay a heavy price. Especially when the one asking has the name of Jason!”  
  
The fountain turned bright red. Piper drew her dagger, but her hand was shaking almost too badly to hold it. “Jason, Leo - it’s time to go. Now.”  
  
“Before you’ve closed the deal?” Medea asked. “What of your quest, boys? And my price is so easy. Did you know this fountain is magic? If a dead man were to be thrown into it, even if he was chopped to pieces, he would pop back out fully formed - stronger and more powerful than ever.”  
  
“Seriously?” Leo asked.  
  
“Leo, she’s lying,” Piper said. “She did that trick with somebody before - a king, I think. She convinced his daughters to cut him to pieces so he could come out of the water young and healthy again, but it just killed him!”  
  
“Ridiculous,” Medea said, and I could hear the power charged in every syllable. “Leo, Jason - my price is so simple. Why don’t you two fight? If you get injured, or even killed, no problem. We’ll just throw you into the fountain and you’ll be better than ever. You do want to fight, don’t you? You resent each other!”  
  
“Guys, no!” Piper said. But they were already glaring at each other, as if it was just dawning on them how they really felt.  
  
I had never felt more helpless.  
  
Leo scowled. “Jason’s always the star. He always gets the attention and takes me for granted.”  
  
“You’re annoying, Leo,” Jason said. “You never take anything seriously. You can’t even fix a dragon.”  
  
“Stop!” Piper pleaded, but both drew weapons - Jason his gold sword, and Leo a hammer from his tool belt.  
  
“Let them go, Piper,” Medea urged. “I’m doing you a favor. Let it happen now, and it will make your choice so much easier. Enceladus will be pleased. You could have your father back today!”  
  
“You work for Enceladus,” Piper said.  
  
Medea laughed. “Serve a giant? No. But we all serve the same greater cause - a patron you cannot begin to challenge. Walk away, child of Aphrodite. This does not have to be your death, too. Save yourself, and your father can go free.”  
  
Leo and Jason were still facing off, ready to fight, but they looked unsteady and confused—waiting for another order. Part of them had to be resisting, I hoped. This went completely against their nature. I focused on their fears of hurting each other and brought them to life. I made them envision how traumatizing the aftermath would be. I felt my strength drain, but the boys seemed to grow more confused by the second, so I kept going. I had half a mind listening to the iris message and the conversation between Medea and Piper, but I had to keep my focus.  
  
“Leo’s mother,” Piper said. “Leo, listen to this! She helped get your mother killed!”  
  
“Uh-huh,” Leo mumbled, in a daze. He frowned at his hammer. “So... I just attack Jason? That’s okay?” I could hear the doubt in his voice growing stronger.  
  
“Perfectly safe,” Medea promised. “And Jason, strike him hard. Show me you are worthy of your namesake.”  
  
“No!” Piper ordered. She knew it was her last chance. “Jason, Leo - she’s tricking you. Put down your weapons.”  
  
The sorceress rolled her eyes. “Please, girl. You’re no match for me. I trained with my aunt, the immortal Circe. I can drive men mad or heal them with my voice. What hope do these puny young heroes have against me? Now, boys, kill each other!”  
  
“Jason, Leo, listen to me. Medea is charming you. It’s part of her magic. You are best friends. Don’t fight each other. Fight her!”  
  
They hesitated, and I could feel the spell shatter.  
  
Jason blinked. “Leo, was I just about to stab you?”  
  
“Something about my mother...?” Leo frowned, then turned toward Medea. “You... you’re working for Dirt Woman. You sent her to the machine shop.” He lifted his arm. “Lady, I got a three-pound hammer with your name on it.”  
  
“Bah!” Medea sneered. “I’ll simply collect payment another way.”  
  
She pressed one of the mosaic tiles on the floor, and the building rumbled. Jason swung his sword at Medea, but she dissolved into smoke and reappeared at the base of the escalator.  
  
“You’re slow, hero!” She laughed. “Take your frustration out on my pets!”  
  
Before Jason could go after her, the giant bronze sundials at either end of the fountain swung open. Two snarling gold beasts - flesh-and-blood winged dragons - crawled out from the pits below. Each was the size of a camper van, maybe not large compared to Festus, but large enough.  
  
“So that’s what’s in the kennels,” I said meekly. I was feeling particularly lightheaded.  
  
The dragons spread their wings and hissed. Piper could feel the heat coming off their glittering skin. One turned his angry orange eyes on her.  
  
“Don’t look them in the eye!” Jason warned. “They’ll paralyze you.”  
  
“Indeed!” Medea was leisurely riding the escalator up, leaning against the handrail as she watched the fun. “These two dears have been with me a long time - sun dragons, you know, gifts from my grandfather Helios. They pulled my chariot when I left Corinth, and now they will be your destruction. Ta-ta!”  
  
The dragons lunged. Leo and Jason charged to intercept. I was amazed how fearlessly the boys attacked - working like a team who had trained together for years. I drank some nectar - probably a little bit too much to be healthy, as my skin felt almost regular temperature to the touch - and felt my strength come back.  
  
Leo blew his safety whistle as I threw my knives, looking for chinks in the dragon's scales, and summoned all my knives back when it failed. I drew two - one for each hand - and launched myself at one of the dragons, attacking it as if the throwing knives were twin daggers.

Leo called, “Jason, Dor, help!”  
  
One of the dragons had Leo pinned to the floor. It was baring its fangs, ready to snap. Jason was all the way across the room charging at the other dragon, much too far away to assist. I ran towards Leo, but before I got to him, the ceiling shattered.  
  
Festus hurtled into the fray, snatching up a sun dragon in each claw. Only now did I appreciate just how big and strong our metal friend was.  
  
“That’s my boy!” Leo yelled.  
  
Festus flew halfway up the atrium, then hurled the sun dragons into the pits they’d come from. Leo raced to the fountain and pressed the marble tile, closing the sundials. They shuddered as the dragons banged against them, trying to get out, but for the moment they were contained.  
  
Medea cursed in some ancient language. The whole fourth floor was on fire now, though how that happened, I had no clue. The air filled with noxious gas. Even with the roof open, I could feel the heat intensifying. PIper backed up to the edge of the railing, keeping her dagger pointed toward Medea.  
  
“I will not be abandoned again!” The sorceress knelt and snatched up the red healing potion, which had somehow survived the crash. “You want your best friend’s memory restored? Take me with you!”  
  
Piper glanced behind her. Leo, Jason and I were on board Festus’s back. The bronze dragon flapped his mighty wings, snatched the two cages with the satyr and the storm spirits in his claws, and began to ascend.  
  
The building rumbled. Fire and the smoke curled up the walls, melting the railings, turning the air to acid.  
  
“You’ll never survive your quest without me!” Medea growled. “Your brother figure will stay ignorant forever, and your father will die. Take me with you!”  
  
For one heartbeat, Piper looked tempted. Then she saw Medea’s grim smile. The sorceress was confident in her powers of persuasion, confident that she could always make a deal, always escape and win in the end.  
  
“Not today, witch.” Piper jumped over the side. She plummeted for only a second before Jason and I caught her, hauling her aboard the dragon behind me.  
  
We heard Medea screaming in rage as we soared through the broken roof and over downtown Chicago. Then the department store exploded behind us.


	16. Chapter 16

**LEO**

I kept looking back. I half expected to see those nasty sun dragons toting a flying chariot with a screaming magical saleswoman throwing potions, but nothing followed us.  
  
I steered the dragon toward the southwest. Eventually, the smoke from the burning department store faded in the distance, but I didn’t relax until the suburbs of Chicago gave way to snowy fields, and the sun began to set.  
  
“Good job, Festus.” I patted the dragon’s metal hide. “You did awesome.”  
  
The dragon shuddered. Gears popped and clicked in his neck.  
  
I frowned, not liking those noises. If the control disk was failing again - No, hopefully it was something minor. Something I could fix.  
  
“I’ll give you a tune-up next time we land,” I promised. “You’ve earned some motor oil and Tabasco sauce.”  
  
Festus whirled his teeth, but even that sounded weak. He flew at a steady pace, his great wings angling to catch the wind, but he was carrying a heavy load. Two cages in his claws plus three people on his back - the more I thought about it, the more worried I got. Even metal dragons had limits.  
  
“Leo.” Theodora patted my shoulder from behind Jason. “You feeling okay?”  
  
“Yeah... not bad for a brainwashed zombie.” I hoped I didn’t look as embarrassed as I felt. “Thanks for saving us back there, girls. If you two hadn’t talked me out of that spell-”  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Piper said.  
  
But I worried a lot. I felt terrible about how easily Medea had set me against my best friend. And those feelings hadn’t come from nowhere - my resentment of the way Jason always got the spotlight and didn’t really seem to need me. I did feel that way sometimes, even if I wasn’t proud of it.  
  
What bothered me more was the news about my mom. Medea had seen the future down in the Underworld. That was how her patron, the woman in the black earthen robes, had come to the machine shop seven years ago to scare me, ruin my life. That’s how my mother had died - because of something I might do someday. So in a weird way, even if the fire powers weren’t to blame, Mom’s death was still my fault.  
  
When we had left Medea in that exploding store, I had felt a little too good. I hoped she wouldn’t make it out, and would go right back to the Fields of Punishment, where she belonged. Those feelings didn’t make me proud, either.  
  
And if souls were coming back from the Underworld... was it possible my mom could be brought back?  
  
I tried to put the idea aside. That was Frankenstein thinking. It wasn’t natural. It wasn’t right. Medea might’ve been brought back to life, but she hadn’t seemed quite human, with the hissing nails and the glowing head and whatnot.  
  
No, my mom had passed on. Thinking any other way would just drive me nuts. Still, the thought kept poking at me, like an echo of Medea’s voice.  
  
“We’re going to have to put down soon,” I warned my friends. “Couple more hours, maybe, to make sure Medea’s not following us. I don’t think Festus can fly much longer than that.”  
  
“Yeah,” Piper agreed. “Coach Hedge probably wants to get out of his canary cage, too. Question is - where are we going?”  
  
“The Bay Area,” I guessed. My memories of the department store were fuzzy, but I seemed to remember hearing that. “Didn’t Medea say something about Oakland?”  
  
Piper didn’t respond for so long, I wondered if I’d said something wrong.  
  
“Piper’s dad,” Jason put in. “Something’s happened to your dad, right? He got lured into some kind of trap.”  
  
Piper let out a shaky breath. “Look, Medea said the three of you would die in the Bay Area. And besides... even if we went there, the Bay Area is huge! First we need to find Aeolus and drop off the storm spirits. Boreas said Aeolus was the only one who could tell us exactly where to go.”  
  
I grunted. “So how do we find Aeolus?”  
  
Jason leaned forward. “You mean you don’t see it?” He pointed ahead of us, but I didn’t see anything except clouds and the lights of a few towns glowing in the dusk.  
  
“What?” I asked. “That … whatever it is,” Jason said. “In the air.”  
  
I glanced back. Theodora and Piper looked just as confused as I was.  
  
“Right,” Leo said. “Could you be more specific on the ‘whatever-it-is’ part?”  
  
“Like a vapor trail,” Jason said. “Except it’s glowing. Really faint, but it’s definitely there. We’ve been following it since Chicago, so I figured you saw it.”  
  
I shook my head. “Maybe Festus can sense it. You think Aeolus made it?”  
  
“Well, it’s a magic trail in the wind,” Jason said. “Aeolus is the wind god. I think he knows we’ve got prisoners for him. He’s telling us where to fly.”  
  
“Or it’s another trap,” Piper said.  
  
Her tone worried me. She didn’t just sound nervous. She sounded broken with despair, like we’d already sealed our fate, and like it was her fault.  
  
“Pipes, you all right?” Theodora asked. "If your dad’s in trouble and we can help-”  
  
“You can’t,” she said, her voice getting shakier. “Look, I’m tired. If you don’t mind...”  
  
She leaned forward against Theodora and closed her eyes.  
  
 _All right_ , I thought - pretty clear signal she didn’t want to talk.  
  
We flew in silence for a while. Festus seemed to know where he was going. He kept his course, gently curving toward the southwest and hopefully Aeolus’s fortress. Another wind god to visit, a whole new flavor of crazy - Oh, boy, I couldn’t wait.  
  
I had way too much on my mind to sleep, but now that I was out danger, my body had different ideas. My energy level was crashing. The monotonous beat of the dragon’s wings made my eyes feel heavy. My head started to nod.  
  
“Catch a few Z’s,” Jason said. “It’s cool. Hand me the reins.”  
  
“Nah, I’m okay-”  
  
“Leo,” Theodora said, “you’re not a machine. Besides, Jason is the only one who can see the vapor trail. He’ll make sure we stay on course.”  
  
My eyes started to close on their own. “All right. Maybe just...”  
  
I didn’t finish the sentence before slumping forward against the dragon’s warm neck.

* * * * *

In my dream, I heard a voice full of static, like a bad AM radio: “Hello? Is this thing working?”  
  
My vision came into focus - sort of. Everything was hazy and gray, with bands of interference running across my sight. I’d never dreamed with a bad connection before.  
  
I seemed to be in a workshop. Out of the corners of my eyes I saw bench saws, metal lathes, and tool cages. A forge glowed cheerfully against one wall.  
  
It wasn’t the camp forge - too big. Not Bunker 9 - much warmer and more comfortable, obviously not abandoned.  
  
Then I realized something was blocking the middle of my view - something large and fuzzy, and so close, I had to cross my eyes to see it properly. It was a large ugly face.  
  
“Holy mother!” I yelped.  
  
The face backed away and came into focus. Staring down at me was a bearded man in grimy blue coveralls. His face was lumpy and covered with welts, as if he’d been bitten by a million bees, or dragged across gravel. Possibly both.  
  
“Humph,” the man said. “Holy father, boy. I should think you’d know the difference.”  
  
I blinked. “Hephaestus?”  
  
Being in the presence of my father for the first time, I probably should’ve been speechless or awestruck or something. But after what I’d been through the last couple of days, with Cyclopes and a sorceress and a face in the potty sludge, all I felt was a surge of complete annoyance.  
  
“Now you show up?” I demanded. “After fifteen years? Great parenting, Fur Face. Where do you get off sticking your ugly nose into my dreams?”  
  
The god raised an eyebrow. A little spark caught fire in his beard. Then he threw back his head and laughed so loudly, the tools rattled on the workbenches.  
  
“You sound just like your mother,” Hephaestus said. “I miss Esperanza.”  
  
“She’s been dead seven years.” My voice trembled. “Not that you’d care.”  
  
“But I do care, boy. About both of you.”  
  
“Uh-huh. Which is why I never saw you before today.”  
  
The god made a rumbling sound in his throat, but he looked more uncomfortable than angry. He pulled a miniature motor from his pocket and began fiddling absently with the pistons - just the way I did when I was nervous.

“I’m not good with children,” the god confessed. “Or people. Well, any organic life forms, really. I thought about speaking to you at your mom’s funeral. Then again when you were in fifth grade... that science project you made, steam-powered chicken chucker. Very impressive.”  
  
“You saw that?”  
  
Hephaestus pointed to the nearest worktable, where a shiny bronze mirror showed a hazy image of me asleep on the dragon’s back. I could see Jason and Theodora talking - I only caught a name, Thalia - and Piper fast asleep.  
  
“Is that me?” I asked. “Like - me right now, having this dream - looking at me having a dream?”  
  
Hephaestus scratched his beard. “Now you’ve confused me. But yes - it’s you. I’m always keeping an eye on you, Leo. But talking to you is, um... different.”  
  
“You’re scared,” I said.  
  
“Grommets and gears!” the god yelled. “Of course not!”  
  
“Yeah, you’re scared.” But my anger seeped away. I’d spent years thinking about what I’d say to his dad if we ever met - how I would chew him out for being a deadbeat. Now, looking at that bronze mirror, I thought about my dad watching my progress over the years, even my stupid science experiments.  
  
Maybe Hephaestus was still a jerk, but I kind of understood where he was coming from. I knew about running away from people, not fitting in. I knew about hiding out in a workshop rather than trying to deal with organic life forms.  
  
“So,” I grumbled, “you keep track of all your kids? You got like twelve back at camp. How’d you even - Never mind. I don’t want to know.”  
  
Hephaestus might’ve blushed, but his face was so beat up and red, it was hard to tell. “Gods are different from mortals, boy. We can exist in many places at once - wherever people call on us, wherever our sphere of influence is strong. In fact, it’s rare our entire essence is ever together in one place - our true form. It’s dangerous, powerful enough to destroy any mortal who looks upon us. So, yes... lots of children. Add to that our different aspects, Greek and Roman-” The god’s fingers froze on his engine project. “Er, that is to say, being a god is complicated. And yes, I try to keep an eye on all my children, but you especially.”  
  
I was pretty sure Hephaestus had almost slipped and said something important, but I wasn’t sure what.  
  
“Why contact me now?” I asked. “I thought the gods had gone silent.”  
  
“We have,” Hephaestus grumped. “Zeus’s orders - very strange, even for him. He’s blocked all visions, dreams, and Iris-messages to and from Olympus. Hermes is sitting around bored out of his mind because he can’t deliver the mail. Fortunately, I kept my old pirate broadcasting equipment.”  
  
Hephaestus patted a machine on the table. It looked like a combination satellite dish, V-6 engine, and espresso maker. Each time Hephaestus jostled the machine, my dream flickered and changed color.  
  
“Used this in the Cold War,” the god said fondly. “Radio Free Hephaestus. Those were the days. I keep it around for pay-for-view, mostly, or making viral brain videos-”  
  
“Viral brain videos?”  
  
“But now it’s come in handy again. If Zeus knew I was contacting you, he’d have my hide.”  
  
“Why is Zeus being such a jerk?”  
  
“Hrumph. He excels at that, boy.” Hephaestus called him boy as if I were an annoying machine part - an extra washer, maybe, that had no clear purpose, but that Hephaestus didn’t want to throw away for fear he might need it someday.  
  
Not exactly heartwarming. Then again, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be called “son.” I wasn’t about to start calling this big awkward ugly guy “Dad.”  
  
Hephaestus got tired of his engine and tossed it over his shoulder. Before it could hit the floor, it sprouted helicopter wings and flew itself into a recycling bin.  
  
“It was the second Titan War, I suppose,” Hephaestus said. “That’s what got Zeus upset. We gods were... well, embarrassed. Don’t think there’s any other way to say it.”  
  
“But you won,” Leo said.  
  
The god grunted. “We won because the demigods of” - again he hesitated, as if he’d almost made a slip - “of Camp Half-Blood took the lead. We won because our children fought our battles for us, smarter than we did. If we’d relied on Zeus’s plan, we would’ve all gone down to Tartarus fighting the storm giant Typhon, and Kronos would’ve won. Bad enough mortals won our war for us, but then that young upstart, Percy Jackson-”  
  
“The guy who’s missing.”  
  
“Hmph. Yes. Him. He had the nerve to turn down our offer of immortality and tell us to pay better attention to our children. Er, no offense.”  
  
“Oh, how could I take offense? Please, go on ignoring me.”  
  
“Mighty understanding of you...” Hephaestus frowned, then sighed wearily. “That was sarcasm, wasn’t it? Machines don’t have sarcasm, usually. But as I was saying, the gods felt ashamed, shown up by mortals. At first, of course, we were grateful. But after a few months, those feelings turned bitter. We’re gods, after all. We need to be admired, looked up to, held in awe and admiration.”  
  
“Even if you’re wrong?”  
  
“Especially then! And to have Jackson refuse our gift, as if being mortal were somehow better than being a god... well, that stuck in Zeus’s craw. He decided it was high time we got back to traditional values. Gods were to be respected. Our children were to be seen and not visited. Olympus was closed. At least that was part of his reasoning. And, of course, we started hearing of bad things stirring under the earth.”  
  
“The giants, you mean. Monsters re-forming instantly. The dead rising again. Little stuff like that?”  
  
“Aye, boy.” Hephaestus turned a knob on his pirate broadcasting machine. my dream sharpened to full color, but the god’s face was such a riot of red welts and yellow and black bruises, I wished it would go back to black and white.  
  
“Zeus thinks he can reverse the tide,” the god said, “lull the earth back to sleep as long as we stay quiet. None of us really believes that. And I don’t mind saying, we’re in no shape to fight another war. We barely survived the Titans. If we’re repeating the old pattern, what comes next is even worse.”  
  
“The giants,” I said. “Hera said demigods and gods had to join forces to defeat them. Is that true?”  
  
“Mmm. I hate to agree with my mother about anything, but yes. Those giants are tough to kill, boy. They’re a different breed.”  
  
“Breed? You make them sound like racehorses.”  
  
“Ha!” the god said. “More like war dogs. Back in the beginning, y’see, everything in creation came from the same parents - Gaea and Ouranos, Earth and Sky. They had their different batches of children - your Titans, your Elder Cyclopes, and so forth. Then Kronos, the head Titan - well, you’ve probably heard how he chopped up his father Ouranos with a scythe and took over the world. Then we gods came along, children of the Titans, and defeated them. But that wasn’t the end of it. The earth bore a new batch of children, except they were sired by Tartarus, the spirit of the eternal abyss - the darkest, most evil place in the Underworld. Those children, the giants, were bred for one purpose - revenge on us for the fall of the Titans. They rose up to destroy Olympus, and they came awfully close.”  
  
Hephaestus’s beard began to smolder. He absently swatted out the flames. “What my blasted mother Hera is doing now - she’s a meddling fool playing a dangerous game, but she’s right about one thing: you demigods have to unite. That’s the only way to open Zeus’s eyes, convince the Olympians they must accept your help. And that’s the only way to defeat what’s coming. You’re a big part of that, Leo. ”  
  
The god’s gaze seemed far away. I wondered if really could split himself into different parts - where else was he right now? Maybe his Greek side was fixing a car or going on a date, while his Roman side was watching a ball game and ordering pizza. I tried to imagine what it would feel like to have multiple personalities. I hoped it wasn’t hereditary.  
  
“Why me?” I asked, and as soon as I said it, more questions flooded out. “Why claim me now? Why not when I was thirteen, like you’re supposed to? Or you could’ve claimed me at seven, before my mom died! Why didn’t you find me earlier? Why didn’t you warn me about this?”  
  
My hand burst into flames.  
  
Hephaestus regarded him sadly. “Hardest part, boy. Letting my children walk their own paths. Interfering doesn’t work. The Fates make sure of that. As for the claiming, you were a special case, boy. The timing had to be right. I can’t explain it much more, but-”  
  
my dream went fuzzy. Just for a moment, it turned into a rerun of Wheel of Fortune. Then Hephaestus came back into focus.  
  
“Blast,” he said. “I can’t talk much longer. Zeus is sensing an illegal dream. He is lord of the air, after all, including the airwaves. Just listen, boy: you have a role to play. Your friends are right - fire is a gift, not a curse. I don’t give that blessing to just anyone. They’ll never defeat the giants without you, much less the mistress they serve. She’s worse than any god or Titan.”  
  
“Who?” I demanded.  
  
Hephaestus frowned, his image becoming fuzzier. “I told you. Yes, I’m pretty sure I told you. Just be warned: along the way, you’re going to lose some friends and some valuable tools. But that isn’t your fault, Leo. Nothing lasts forever, not even the best machines. And everything can be reused.”  
  
“What do you mean? I don’t like the sound of that.”  
  
“No, you shouldn’t.” Hephaestus’s image was barely visible now, just a blob in the static. “Just watch out for-”  
  
My dream switched to Wheel of Fortune just as the wheel hit Bankrupt and the audience said, “Awwww!”  
  
Then I snapped awake to Jason, Theodora and Piper screaming.  
  
We spiraled through the dark in a free fall, still on the dragon’s back, but Festus’s hide was cold. His ruby eyes were dim.  
  
“Not again!” I yelled. “You can’t fall again!”  
  
I  could barely hold on. The wind stung my eyes, but I managed to pull open the panel on the dragon’s neck. I toggled the switches. I tugged the wires. The dragon’s wings flapped once, but I caught a whiff of burning bronze. The drive system was overloaded. Festus didn’t have the strength to keep flying, and I couldn’t get to the main control panel on the dragon’s head - not in midair. I saw the lights of a city below us - just flashes in the dark as we plummeted in circles. We had only seconds before we crashed.  
  
“Jason!” I screamed. “Take the girls and fly out of here!”  
  
“What?”  
  
“We need to lighten the load! I might be able to reboot Festus, but he’s carrying too much weight!”

“What about you?” Piper cried. “If you can’t reboot him-”  
  
“I’ll be fine,” I yelled. “Just follow me to the ground. Go!”  
  
Jason grabbed Piper and Theodora - one arm around the waist of each of them. They unbuckled their harnesses, and in a flash they were gone - shooting into the air.  
  
“Now,” I said. “Just you and me, Festus - and two heavy cages. You can do it, boy!”  
  
I talked to the dragon while I worked, falling at terminal velocity. I could see the city lights below me, getting closer and closer. I summoned fire in my hand so I could see what I was doing, but the wind kept extinguishing it.  
  
I pulled a wire that I thought connected the dragon’s nerve center to its head, hoping for a little wake-up jolt.  
  
Festus groaned - metal creaking inside his neck. His eyes flickered weakly to life, and he spread his wings. Their fall turned into a steep glide.  
  
“Good!” I said. “Come on, big boy. Come on!”  
  
We were still flying in way too hot, and the ground was too close. I needed a place to land - fast.  
  
There was a big river - no. Not good for a fire-breathing dragon. I’d never get Festus out from the bottom if he sank, especially in freezing temperatures. Then, on the riverbanks, I spotted a white mansion with a huge snowy lawn inside a tall brick perimeter fence - like some rich person’s private compound, all of it blazing with light. A perfect landing field. I did my best to steer the dragon toward it, and Festus seemed to come back to life. We could make this!  
  
Then everything went wrong. As we approached the lawn, spotlights along the fence fixed on them, blinding me. I heard bursts like tracer fire, the sound of metal being cut to shreds - and BOOM.  
  
I blacked out.  
  



	17. Chapter 17

**THEODORA**

When Leo came to his senses, Jason, Piper and I were leaning over him. He was lying in the snow, covered in mud and grease. He spit a clump of frozen grass out of his mouth.  
  
“Where-”  
  
“Lie still.” Piper had tears in her eyes. “You rolled pretty hard when-when Festus-”  
  
“Where is he?” Leo sat up, wincing as he did so.  
  
“Seriously, Leo,” Jason said. “You could be hurt. You shouldn’t-”  
  
Leo pushed himself to his feet. Then he saw the wreckage. Festus had dropped the big canary cages as he came over the fence, and they’d rolled in different directions and landed on their sides, perfectly undamaged.  
  
Festus hadn’t been so lucky.  
  
The dragon had disintegrated. His limbs were scattered across the lawn. His tail hung on the fence. The main section of his body had plowed a trench twenty feet wide and fifty feet long across the mansion’s yard before breaking apart. What remained of his hide was a charred, smoking pile of scraps. Only his neck and head were somewhat intact, resting across a row of frozen rosebushes like a pillow.  
  
“No,” Leo sobbed. He ran to the dragon’s head and stroked its snout. The dragon’s eyes flickered weakly. Oil leaked out of his ear.  
  
“You can’t go,” Leo pleaded. “You’re the best thing I ever fixed.”  
  
The dragon’s head whirred its gears, as if it were purring. Jason and Piper stood next to him, and I knelt down, but Leo kept his eyes fixed on the dragon.  
  
“It’s not fair,” he said. I put my hand on his and squeezed it gently.  
  
The dragon clicked. Long creak. Two short clicks. Creak. Creak. Almost like a pattern... I recognized it as morse code, but I'd never been very good at it. Leo seemed to understand it thought.  
  
“Yeah,” Leo said. “I understand. I will. I promise.”  
  
The dragon’s eyes went dark. Festus was gone.  
  
Leo cried. Piper tried to say some comforting things, but I put my finger on my lips, signaling her to give him some silence. She knelt on his other side and put her hand on his shoulder.  
  
Finally Jason said, “I’m so sorry, man. What did you promise Festus?”  
  
Leo sniffled. He opened the dragon’s head panel, but even I could see that the control disk was cracked and burned beyond repair.  
  
“Something my dad told me,” Leo said. “Everything can be reused.”  
  
“Your dad talked to you?” Jason asked. “When was this?”  
  
Leo didn’t answer. He worked at the dragon’s neck hinges until the head was detached. Leo managed to lift it up somehow. He looked up at the starry sky and said, “Take him back to the bunker, Dad. Please, until I can reuse him. I’ve never asked you for anything.”  
  
The wind picked up, and the dragon’s head floated out of Leo’s arms like it weighed nothing. It flew into the sky and disappeared.  
  
Piper looked at him in amazement. “He answered you?”  
  
“I had a dream,” Leo managed. “Tell you later.”

He looked around.

“Where are we?” he asked. “I mean, what city?”  
  
“Omaha, Nebraska,” I said. “I saw a billboard as we flew in. But I don’t know what this mansion is. We came in right behind you, but as you were landing, Leo, it looked like - I don’t know-”  
  
“Lasers,” Leo said. He picked up a piece of dragon wreckage and threw it toward the top of the fence. Immediately a turret popped up from the brick wall and a beam of pure heat incinerated the bronze plating to ashes.  
  
Jason whistled. “Some defense system. How are we even alive?”  
  
“Festus,” Leo said miserably. “He took the fire. The lasers sliced him to bits as he came in so they didn’t focus on you. I led him into a death trap.”  
  
“You couldn’t have known,” Piper said. “He saved our lives again.”  
  
“But what now?” Jason said. “The main gates are locked, and I’m guessing I can’t fly us out of here without getting shot down.”  
  
Leo looked up the walkway at the big white mansion. “Since we can’t go out, we’ll have to go in.


	18. Chapter 18

**JASON**

We would've died five times on the way to the front door if not for Leo.  
  
First it was the motion-activated trapdoor on the sidewalk, then the lasers on the steps, then the nerve gas dispenser on the porch railing, the pressure-sensitive poison spikes in the welcome mat, and of course the exploding doorbell.  
  
Leo deactivated all of them. It was like he could smell the traps, and he picked just the right tool out of his belt to disable them.  
  
“You’re amazing, man,” I said.  
  
Leo scowled as he examined the front door lock. “Yeah, amazing,” he said. “Can’t fix a dragon right, but I’m amazing.”  
  
“Hey, that wasn’t your-”  
  
“Front door’s already unlocked,” Leo announced.  
  
Piper stared at the door in disbelief. “It is? All those traps, and the door’s unlocked?”  
  
Leo turned the knob. The door swung open easily. He stepped inside without hesitation, Piper right behind him.  
  
Before I could follow, Theodora caught his arm. “He’s going to need some time to get over Festus. Don’t take it personally.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jason said. “Yeah, okay.”  
  
But still I felt terrible. Back in Medea’s store, I’d said some pretty harsh stuff to Leo - stuff a friend shouldn’t say, not to mention the fact I’d almost skewered Leo with a sword. If it hadn’t been for Piper and Theo, we’d both be dead. And Piper hadn’t gotten out of that encounter easily, either. I caught up with her.  
  
“Piper,” I said, “I know I was in a daze back in Chicago, but that stuff about your dad - if he’s in trouble, I want to help. I don’t care if it’s a trap or not.”  
  
Her eyes were always different colors, but now they looked shattered, as if she’d seen something she just couldn’t cope with. “Jason, you don’t know what you’re saying. Please - don’t make me feel worse. Come on. We should stick together.”  
  
“Together,” I said to myself. “Yeah, we’re doing great with that.”  
  
My first impression of the house: _Dark_.  
  
From the echo of my footsteps I could tell the entry hall was enormous, even bigger than Boreas’s penthouse; but the only illumination came from the yard lights outside. A faint glow peeked through the breaks in the thick velvet curtains. The windows rose about ten feet tall. Spaced between them along the walls were life-size metal statues. As my eyes adjusted, I saw sofas arranged in a U in the middle of the room, with a central coffee table and one large chair at the far end. A massive chandelier glinted overhead. Along the back wall stood a row of closed doors.  
  
“Where’s the light switch?” My voice echoed alarmingly through the room.  
  
“Don’t see one,” Leo said.  
  
“Fire?” Theo suggested.  
  
Leo held out his hand, but nothing happened. “It’s not working.”  
  
“Your fire is out? Why?” Piper asked.  
  
“Well, if I knew that-”  
  
“Okay, okay,” she said. “What do we do - explore?”  
  
Leo shook his head. “After all those traps outside? Bad idea.”  
  
My skin tingled. I hated being a demigod. Looking around, I didn’t see a comfortable room to hang out in. I imagined vicious storm spirits lurking in the curtains, dragons under the carpet, a chandelier made of lethal ice shards, ready to impale us.  
  
“Leo’s right,” I said. “We’re not separating again - not like in Detroit.”  
  
“Oh, thank you for reminding me of the Cyclopes.” Piper’s voice quavered. “I needed that.”  
  
“It’s a few hours until dawn,” I guessed. “Too cold to wait outside. Let’s bring the cages in and make camp in this room. Wait for daylight; then we can decide what to do.”  
  
Nobody offered a better idea, so we rolled in the cages with Coach Hedge and the storm spirits, then settled in. Thankfully, Leo didn’t find any poison throw pillows or electric whoopee cushions on the sofas.  
  
Leo didn’t seem in the mood to make more tacos. Besides, we had no fire, so we settled for cold rations.

As I ate, I studied the metal statues along the walls. They looked like Greek gods or heroes. Maybe that was a good sign. Or maybe they were used for target practice. On the coffee table sat a tea service and a stack of glossy brochures, but I couldn’t make out the words. The big chair at the other end of the table looked like a throne. None of us tried to sit in it.  
  
The canary cages didn’t make the place any less creepy. The venti kept churning in their prison, hissing and spinning, and I got the uncomfortable feeling they were watching me. I could somehow sense their hatred for the children of Zeus - the lord of the sky who’d ordered Aeolus to imprison their kind. The venti would like nothing better than to tear me apart.  
  
As for Coach Hedge, he was still frozen mid-shout, his cudgel raised. Leo was working on the cage, trying to open it with various tools, but the lock seemed to be giving him a hard time. I decided not to sit next to him in case Hedge suddenly unfroze and went into ninja goat mode.  
  
Despite how wired I felt, once my stomach was full, I started to nod off. The couches were a little too comfortable - a lot better than a dragon’s back - and I’d taken the last two watches while my friends slept. I was exhausted.  
  
Piper had already curled up on the other sofa. I wondered if she was really asleep or dodging a conversation about her dad. Whatever Medea had meant in Chicago, about Piper getting her dad back if she cooperated - it didn’t sound good. If Piper had risked her own dad to save us, that made me feel even guiltier.  
  
And we were running out of time. If I had my days straight, this was early morning of December 20. Which meant tomorrow was the winter solstice.  
  
“Get some sleep,” Leo said, still working on the locked cage. “It’s your turn.”  
  
I took a deep breath. “Leo, I’m sorry about that stuff I said in Chicago. That wasn’t me. You’re not annoying and you do take stuff seriously - especially your work. I wish I could do half the things you can do.”  
  
Leo lowered his screwdriver. He looked at the ceiling and shook his head like, What am I gonna do with this guy?  
  
“I try very hard to be annoying,” Leo said. “Don’t insult my ability to annoy. And how am I supposed to resent you if you go apologizing? I’m a lowly mechanic. You’re like the prince of the sky, son of the Lord of the Universe. I’m supposed to resent you.”  
  
“Lord of the Universe?”  
  
“Sure, you’re all - bam! Lightning man. And ‘Watch me fly. I am the eagle that soars-’”  
  
“Shut up, Valdez.”  
  
Leo managed a little smile. “Yeah, see. I do annoy you.”  
  
“I apologize for apologizing.”  
  
“Thank you.” He went back to work, but the tension had eased between them. Leo still looked sad and exhausted - just not quite so angry.  
  
“Go to sleep, Jason,” he ordered. “It’s gonna take a few hours to get this goat man free. Then I still got to figure out how to make the winds a smaller holding cell, ’cause I am not lugging that canary cage to California.”  
  
“You did fix Festus, you know,” I said. “You gave him a purpose again. I think this quest was the high point of his life.”  
  
I was afraid I’d blown it and made Leo mad again, but Leo just sighed.  
  
“I hope,” he said. “Now, sleep, man. I want some time without you organic life forms.”  
  
I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, and I shared a look with an equally confused Theo, but we didn’t argue. She curled up into my side and surprised me; her breathing evened out almost immediately. I closed my eyes and had a long, blissfully dreamless sleep.  
  
I only woke when the yelling started.  
  
“Ahhhggggggh!”  
  
I leaped to my feet. I wasn’t sure what was more jarring - the full sunlight that now bathed the room, or the screaming satyr.  
  
“Gleeson is awake,” Theo - who looked like she'd already been awake for at least a few minutes - said, which was kind of unnecessary. Hedge was capering around on his furry hindquarters, swinging his club and yelling, “Die!” as he smashed the tea set, whacked the sofas, and charged at the throne.  
  
“Coach!” I yelled.  
  
Hedge turned, breathing hard. His eyes were so wild, I was afraid he might attack. The satyr was still wearing his orange polo shirt and his coach’s whistle, but his horns were clearly visible above his curly hair, and his beefy hindquarters were definitely all goat. Could you call a goat beefy? I put the thought aside.  
  
“You’re the new kid,” Hedge said, lowering his club. “Jason.” He looked at Leo, then Piper, who’d apparently also just woken up. Her hair looked like it had become a nest for a friendly hamster.   
  
“Valdez, McLean,” the coach said. “What’s going on? We were at the Grand Canyon. The anemoi thuellai were attacking and—” He zeroed in on the storm spirit cage, and his eyes went back to DEFCON 1. “Die!”  
  
“Whoa, Gleeson!” Theo stepped in his path, which was pretty brave, seeing as she was the only one actually shorter than him - even with just two or so inches. “It’s okay. They’re locked up. We just sprang you from the other cage.”  
  
“Cage? Cage? What’s going on? Where are we and since when are you here too, Castellan?”  
  
I cleared my throat. “Coach - Gleeson - um, whatever you want us to call you. You saved us at the Grand Canyon. You were totally brave.”  
  
“Of course I was!”  
  
“The extraction team came and took us to Camp Half-Blood. We thought we’d lost you. Then we got word the storm spirits had taken you back to their - um, operator, Medea.”  
  
“That witch! Wait - that’s impossible. She’s mortal. She’s dead.”  
  
“Yeah, well,” Leo said, “somehow she got not dead anymore.”  
  
Hedge nodded, his eyes narrowing. “So! You were sent on a dangerous quest to rescue me. Excellent!”  
  
“Um.” Piper got to her feet, holding out her hands so Coach Hedge wouldn’t attack her. “Actually, Glee- can I still call you Coach Hedge? Gleeson seems wrong. We’re on a quest for something else. We kind of found you by accident.”  
  
“Oh.” The coach’s spirits seemed to deflate, but only for a second. Then his eyes lit up again. “But there are no accidents! Not on quests. This was meant to happen! So, this is the witch’s lair, eh? Why is everything gold?”  
  
“Gold?” I looked around. From the way Leo and Piper caught their breath, he guessed they hadn’t noticed yet either.  
  
The room was full of gold - the statues, the tea set Hedge had smashed, the chair that was definitely a throne. Even the curtains - which seemed to have opened by themselves at daybreak - appeared to be woven of gold fiber.  
  
“Nice,” Leo said. “No wonder they got so much security.”  
  
“This isn’t-” Piper stammered. “This isn’t Medea’s place, Coach. It’s some rich person’s mansion in Omaha. We got away from Medea and crash-landed here.”  
  
“It’s destiny, cupcakes!” Hedge insisted. “I’m meant to protect you. What’s the quest?”  
  
Before I could decide if I wanted to explain or just shove Coach Hedge back into his cage, a door opened at the far end of the room.  
  
A pudgy man in a white bathrobe stepped out with a golden toothbrush in his mouth. He had a white beard and one of those long, old-fashioned sleeping caps pressed down over his white hair. He froze when he saw them, and the toothbrush fell out of his mouth.  
  
He glanced into the room behind him and called, “Son? Lit, come out here, please. There are strange people in the throne room.”  
  
Coach Hedge did the obvious thing. He raised his club and shouted, “Die!”  
  
It took both Leo and me to hold back the satyr. “Whoa, Coach!” I said. “Bring it down a few notches.” A younger man charged into the room. I guessed he must be Lit, the old guy’s son. He was dressed in pajama pants with a sleeveless T-shirt that said cornhuskers, and he held a sword that looked like it could husk a lot of things besides corn. His ripped arms were covered in scars, and his face, framed by curly dark hair, would’ve been handsome if it wasn’t also sliced up.  
  
Lit immediately zeroed in on me like I was the biggest threat, and stalked toward me, swinging his sword overhead. “Hold on!” Piper stepped forward, trying for her best calming voice. “This is just a misunderstanding! Everything’s fine.” Lit stopped in his tracks, but he still looked wary. It didn’t help that Hedge was screaming, “I’ll get them! Don’t worry!”  
  
“Coach,” I pleaded, “they may be friendly. Besides, we’re trespassing in their house.”  
  
“Thank you!” said the old man in the bathrobe. “Now, who are you, and why are you here?”  
  
“Let’s all put our weapons down,” Piper said. “Coach, you first.”  
  
Hedge clenched his jaw. “Just one thwack?”  
  
“No,” Piper said.  
  
“What about a compromise? I’ll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I’ll apologize.”  
  
“No!” Theo spoke up, and he seemed to listen to her, weirdly enough.  
  
“Meh.” Coach Hedge lowered his club.  
  
Theo gave Lit a friendly sorry-about-that smile. Even with her white hair messed up and wearing two-day-old clothes, she looked extremely cute, and Jason felt a little jealous she was giving Lit that smile.  
  
Lit huffed and sheathed his sword. “You speak well, girls - fortunately for your friends, or I would’ve run them through.”  
  
“Appreciate it,” Leo said. “I try not to get run through before lunchtime.”  
  
The old man in the bathrobe sighed, kicking the teapot that Coach Hedge had smashed. “Well, since you’re here. Please, sit down.”  
  
Lit frowned. “Your Majesty-”  
  
“No, no, it’s fine, Lit,” the old man said. “New land, new customs. They may sit in my presence. After all, they’ve seen me in my nightclothes. No sense observing formalities.” He did his best to smile, though it looked a little forced. “Welcome to my humble home. I am King Midas.”  
  
“Midas? Impossible,” said Coach Hedge. “He died.”

They were sitting on the sofas now, while the king reclined on his throne. Tricky to do that in a bathrobe, and I kept worrying the old guy would forget and uncross his legs. Hopefully he was wearing golden boxers under there.  
  
Lit stood behind the throne, both hands on his sword, glancing at Piper and Theo and flexing his muscular arms just to be annoying. I wondered if I looked that ripped holding a sword. Sadly, I doubted it.  
  
Piper sat forward. “What our satyr friend means, Your Majesty, is that you’re the second mortal we’ve met who should be - sorry - dead. King Midas lived thousands of years ago.”  
  
“Interesting.” The king gazed out the windows at the brilliant blue skies and the winter sunlight. In the distance, downtown Omaha looked like a cluster of children’s blocks - way too clean and small for a regular city.  
  
“You know,” the king said, “I think I was a bit dead for a while. It’s strange. Seems like a dream, doesn’t it, Lit?”

“A very long dream, Your Majesty.”  
  
“And yet, now we’re here. I’m enjoying myself very much. I like being alive better.”  
  
“But how?” Piper asked. “You didn’t happen to have a... patron?”  
  
Midas hesitated, but there was a sly twinkle in his eyes. “Does it matter, my dear?”  
  
“We could kill them again,” Hedge suggested.  
  
“Coach, not helping,” I said. “Why don’t you go outside and stand guard?”  
  
Leo coughed. “Is that safe? They’ve got some serious security.”  
  
“Oh, yes,” the king said. “Sorry about that. But it’s lovely stuff, isn’t it? Amazing what gold can still buy. Such excellent toys you have in this country!”  
  
He fished a remote control out of his bathrobe pocket and pressed a few buttons - a pass code, I guessed.  
  
“There,” Midas said. “Safe to go out now.”  
  
Coach Hedge grunted. “Fine. But if you need me...” He winked at Jason meaningfully. Then he pointed at himself, pointed two fingers at their hosts, and sliced a finger across his throat. Very subtle sign language.  
  
“Yeah, thanks,” I said.  
  
After the satyr left, Theo tried another diplomatic smile. “So... you don’t know how you got here?”  
  
“Oh, well, yes. Sort of,” the king said. He frowned at Lit. “Why did we pick Omaha, again? I know it wasn’t the weather.”  
  
“The oracle,” Lit said.  
  
“Yes! I was told there was an oracle in Omaha.” The king shrugged. “Apparently I was mistaken. But this is a rather nice house, isn’t it? Lit - it’s short for Lityerses, by the way - horrible name, but his mother insisted - Lit has plenty of wide-open space to practice his swordplay. He has quite a reputation for that. They called him the Reaper of Men back in the old days.”  
  
“Oh.” Piper sounded like she was trying to sound enthusiastic, but it didn't do a lot. “How nice.”  
  
Lit’s smile was more of a cruel sneer. I was now one hundred percent sure I didn’t like this guy, and I was starting to regret sending Hedge outside.  
  
“So,” I said. “All this gold-”  
  
The king’s eyes lit up. “Are you here for gold, my boy? Please, take a brochure!”  
  
I looked at the brochures on the coffee table. The title said _GOLD: Invest for Eternity_. “Um, you sell gold?”  
  
“No, no,” the king said. “I make it. In uncertain times like these, gold is the wisest investment, don’t you think? Governments fall. The dead rise. Giants attack Olympus. But gold retains its value!”  
  
Leo frowned. “I’ve seen that commercial.”  
  
“Oh, don’t be fooled by cheap imitators!” the king said. “I assure you, I can beat any price for a serious investor. I can make a wide assortment of gold items at a moment’s notice.”  
  
“But...” Piper shook her head in confusion. “Your Majesty, you gave up the golden touch, didn’t you?”  
  
The king looked astonished. “Gave it up?”  
  
“Yes,” Piper said. “You got it from some god-”  
  
“Dionysus, if my memory serves me correctly." The kind nodded in agreement to Piper and Theo. “I’d rescued one of his satyrs, and in return, the god granted me one wish. I chose the golden touch.”  
  
“But you accidentally turned your own daughter to gold,” Piper remembered. “And you realized how greedy you’d been. So you repented.”  
  
“Repented!” King Midas looked at Lit incredulously. “You see, son? You’re away for a few thousand years, and the story gets twisted all around. My dear girl, did those stories ever say I’d lost my magic touch?”  
  
“Well, I guess not. They just said you learned how to reverse it with running water, and you brought your daughter back to life.”  
  
“That’s all true. Sometimes I still have to reverse my touch. There’s no running water in the house because I don’t want accidents” - he gestured to his statues - “but we chose to live next to a river just in case. Occasionally, I’ll forget and pat Lit on the back-”  
  
Lit retreated a few steps. “I hate that.”  
  
“I told you I was sorry, son. At any rate, gold is wonderful. Why would I give it up?”  
  
“Well...” Piper looked truly lost now. “Isn’t that the point of the story? That you learned your lesson?”  
  
Midas laughed. “My dear, may I see your backpack for a moment? Toss it here.”  
  
Piper looked like she was hesitating, but she probably wasn’t eager to offend the king. She dumped everything out of the pack and tossed it to Midas. As soon as he caught it, the pack turned to gold, like frost spreading across the fabric. It still looked flexible and soft, but definitely gold. The king tossed it back.  
  
“As you see, I can still turn anything to gold,” Midas said. “That pack is magic now, as well. Go ahead - put your little storm spirit enemies in there.”  
  
“Seriously?” Leo was suddenly interested. He took the bag from Piper and held it up to the cage. As soon as he unzipped the backpack, the winds stirred and howled in protest. The cage bars shuddered. The door of the prison flew open and the winds got vacuumed straight into the pack. Leo zipped it shut and grinned. “Gotta admit. That’s cool.”  
  
“You see?” Midas said. “My golden touch a curse? Please. I didn’t learn any lesson, and life isn’t a story, girl. Honestly, my daughter Zoe was much more pleasant as a gold statue.”  
  
“She talked a lot,” Lit offered.  
  
“Exactly! And so I turned her back to gold.” Midas pointed. There in the corner was a golden statue of a girl with a shocked expression, as if she were thinking, _Dad_!  
  
“That’s horrible!” Piper said.  
  
“Nonsense. She doesn’t mind. Besides, if I’d learned my lesson, would I have gotten these?”  
  
Midas pulled off his oversize sleeping cap, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or get sick. Midas had long fuzzy gray ears sticking up from his white hair - like Bugs Bunny’s, but they weren’t rabbit ears. They were donkey ears.  
  
“Oh, wow,” Leo said. “I didn’t need to see that.”  
  
“Terrible, isn’t it?” Midas sighed. “A few years after the golden touch incident, I judged a music contest between Apollo and Pan, and I declared Pan the winner. Apollo, sore loser, said I must have the ears of an ass, and voilà. This was my reward for being truthful. I tried to keep them a secret. Only my barber knew, but he couldn’t help blabbing.” Midas pointed out another golden statue - a bald man in a toga, holding a pair of shears. “That’s him. He won’t be telling anyone’s secrets again.”  
  
The king smiled. Suddenly he didn’t strike me as a harmless old man in a bathrobe. His eyes had a merry glow to them - the look of a madman who knew he was mad, accepted his madness, and enjoyed it. “Yes, gold has many uses. I think that must be why I was brought back, eh Lit? To bankroll our patron.”  
  
Lit nodded. “That and my good sword arm.”  
  
I glanced at my friends. Suddenly the air in the room seemed much colder.  
  
“So you do have a patron,” Jason said. “You work for the giants.”  
  
King Midas waved his hand dismissively. “Well, I don’t care for giants myself, of course. But even supernatural armies need to get paid. I do owe my patron a great debt. I tried to explain that to the last group that came through, but they were very unfriendly. Wouldn’t cooperate at all.”  
  
I slipped my hand into my pocket and grabbed his gold coin. “The last group?”  
  
“Hunters,” Lit snarled. “Blasted girls from Artemis.”  
  
Jason felt a spark of electricity - a literal spark - travel down his spine. He caught a whiff of electrical fire like he’d just melted some of the springs in the sofa.  
  
His sister had been here.  
  
“When?” he demanded. “What happened?”  
  
Lit shrugged. “Few days ago? I didn’t get to kill them, unfortunately. They were looking for some evil wolves, or something. Said they were following a trail, heading west. Missing demigod - I don’t recall.”  
  
Percy Jackson, I thought. Annabeth had mentioned the Hunters were looking for him. And in my dream of the burned-out house in the redwoods, I’d heard enemy wolves baying. Hera had called them her keepers. It had to be connected somehow.  
  
Midas scratched his donkey ears. “Very unpleasant young ladies, those Hunters,” he recalled. “They absolutely refused to be turned into gold. Much of the security system outside I installed to keep that sort of thing from happening again, you know. I don’t have time for those who aren’t serious investors.”  
  
I stood warily and glanced at my friends. They got the message.  
  
“Well,” Piper said, managing a smile. “It’s been a great visit. Welcome back to life. Thanks for the gold bag.”  
  
“Oh, but you can’t leave!” Midas said. “I know you’re not serious investors, but that’s all right! I have to rebuild my collection.”  
  
Lit was smiling cruelly. The king rose, and Leo, Piper and Theo moved away from him.  
  
“Don’t worry,” the king assured them. “You don’t have to be turned to gold. I give all my guests a choice - join my collection, or die at the hands of Lityerses. Really, it’s good either way.”  
  
Piper tried to use her charmspeak. “Your Majesty, you can’t-”  
  
Quicker than any old man should’ve been able to move, Midas lashed out and grabbed her wrist.  
  
“No!” Theo yelled.  
  
But a frost of gold spread over Piper, and in a heartbeat she was a glittering statue. Leo tried to summon fire, but he’d forgotten his power wasn’t working. Midas touched his hand, and Leo transformed into solid metal. Theo seemingly froze for a second, her chest heaving as she breathed even faster than usual - I realized her powers work best when she touched someone, which she couldn't do here. She snapped out of it and fumbled for her bracelet, pulling a throwing knife from it. She tried to throw it at Lit, but Midas grabbed her wrist as she was about to let go, and she turned into a golden statue.  
  
I was so horrified I couldn’t move. My friends - just gone. And I hadn’t been able to stop it.  
  
Midas smiled apologetically. “Gold trumps fire, I’m afraid.” He waved around him at all the gold curtains and furniture. “In this room, my power dampens all others: fire, fear... even charmspeak. Which leaves me only one more trophy to collect.”  
  
“Hedge!” I yelled. “Need help in here!”  
  
For once, the satyr didn’t charge in. I wondered if the lasers had gotten him, or if he was sitting at the bottom of a trap pit.  
  
Midas chuckled. “No goat to the rescue? Sad. But don’t worry, my boy. It’s really not painful. Lit can tell you.”  
  
I fixed on an idea. “I choose combat. You said I could choose to fight Lit instead.”  
  
Midas looked mildly disappointed, but he shrugged. “I said you could die fighting Lit. But of course, if you wish.”  
  
The king backed away, and Lit raised his sword.  
  
“I’m going to enjoy this,” Lit said. “I am the Reaper of Men!”  
  
“Come on, Cornhusker.” I summoned my own weapon. This time it came up as a javelin, and I was glad for the extra length.

“Oh, gold weapon!” Midas said. “Very nice.”  
  
Lit charged.  
  
The guy was fast. He slashed and sliced, and I could barely dodge the strikes, but my mind went into a different mode - analyzing patterns, learning Lit’s style, which was all offense, no defense.  
  
I countered, sidestepped, and blocked. Lit seemed surprised to find me still alive.  
  
“What is that style?” Lit growled. “You don’t fight like a Greek.”  
  
“Legion training,” I said, though I wasn’t sure how I knew that. “It’s Roman.”  
  
“Roman?” Lit struck again, and I deflected his blade. “What is Roman?”  
  
“News flash,” I said. “While you were dead, Rome defeated Greece. Created the greatest empire of all time.”  
  
“Impossible,” Lit said. “Never even heard of them.”  
  
I spun on one heel, smacked Lit in the chest with the butt of my javelin, and sent him toppling into Midas’s throne.  
  
“Oh, dear,” Midas said. “Lit?”  
  
“I’m fine,” Lit growled.  
  
“You’d better help him up,” I said.  
  
Lit cried, “Dad, no!”  
  
Too late. Midas put his hand on his son’s shoulder, and suddenly a very angry-looking gold statue was sitting on Midas’s throne.  
  
“Curses!” Midas wailed. “That was a naughty trick, demigod. I’ll get you for that.” He patted Lit’s golden shoulder. “Don’t worry, son. I’ll get you down to the river right after I collect this prize.”  
  
Midas raced forward. I dodged, but the old man was fast, too. I kicked the coffee table into the old man’s legs and knocked him over, but Midas wouldn’t stay down for long.  
  
Then I glanced at Theo's golden statue. Anger washed over me. I was the son of Zeus. I could not fail my friends.  
  
I felt a tugging sensation in my gut, and the air pressure dropped so rapidly that my ears popped. Midas must’ve felt it too, because he stumbled to his feet and grabbed his donkey ears.  
  
“Ow! What are you doing?” he demanded. “My power is supreme here!”  
  
Thunder rumbled. Outside, the sky turned black.  
  
“You know another good use for gold?” I asked.  
  
Midas raised his eyebrows, suddenly excited. “Yes?”  
  
“It’s an excellent conductor of electricity.”  
  
I raised my javelin, and the ceiling exploded. A lightning bolt ripped through the roof like it was an eggshell, connected with the tip of my spear, and sent out arcs of energy that blasted the sofas to shreds. Chunks of ceiling plaster crashed down. The chandelier groaned and snapped off its chain, and Midas screamed as it pinned him to the floor. The glass immediately turned into gold.  
  
When the rumbling stopped, freezing rain poured into the building. Midas cursed in Ancient Greek, thoroughly pinned under his chandelier. The rain soaked everything, turning the gold chandelier back to glass. Leo, Piper and Theo were slowly changing too, along with the other statues in the room.  
  
Then the front door burst open, and Coach Hedge charged in, club ready. His mouth was covered with dirt, snow, and grass.  
  
“What’d I miss?” he asked.  
  
“Where were you?” I demanded. my head was spinning from summoning the lightning bolt, and it was all I could do to keep from passing out. “I was screaming for help.”  
  
Hedge belched. “Getting a snack. Sorry. Who needs killing?”  
  
“No one, now!” Jason said. “Just grab Leo. I’ll get the girls.”  
  
“Don’t leave me like this!” Midas wailed.  
  
All around him the statues of his victims were turning to flesh - his daughter, his barber, and a whole lot of angry-looking guys with swords.  
  
I grabbed Piper’s golden bag and the regular backpacks.  
  
Then I threw a rug over the golden statue of Lit on the throne. Hopefully that would keep the Reaper of Men from turning back to flesh - at least until after Midas’s victims did.  
  
“Let’s get out of here,” I told Hedge. “I think these guys will want some quality time with Midas.”


	19. Chapter 19

**JASON**

Piper woke up shivering, unlike Theo, who was still out cold - literally.  
  
“Oh, god.” Her teeth chattered. “He turned me to gold!”  
  
“You’re okay now.” Leo pulled her close as I spoke.  
  
“L-L-Leo?” Piper spoke.  
  
“Present and un-gold-ified.” He was wrapped in blankets, which he tucked around her too. “Dor and I got the precious metal treatment too,” he said. “But I came out of it faster. Dunno why. We had to dunk you girls in the river to get you back completely. Tried to dry you off, but... it’s really, really cold.”  
  
“You’ve got hypothermia,” I said. “We risked as much nectar as we could. Coach Hedge did a little nature magic-”  
  
“Sports medicine. Kind of a hobby of mine. Your breath might smell like wild mushrooms and Gatorade for a few days, but it’ll pass. You probably won’t die. Probably.”  
  
“Thanks,” Piper said weakly. “How did you beat Midas?”  
  
I told her the story, putting most of it down to luck.  
  
The coach snorted. “Kid’s being modest. You should’ve seen him. Hi-yah! Slice! Boom with the lightning!”  
  
“Coach, you didn’t even see it,” I said. “You were outside eating the lawn.”  
  
But the satyr was just warming up. “Then I came in with my club, and we dominated that room. Afterward, I told him, ‘Kid, I’m proud of you! If you could just work on your upper body strength-’”  
  
“Coach,” I interrupted.  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Shut up, please.”  
  
“Sure.” The coach sat down at the fire and started chewing his cudgel.

Theo shot upright, her eyes wide. She looked around quickly before visibly relaxing, which showed how she trusted us - it made me feel really warm inside for some reason.

"Dor, you're okay!" Piper leaned over and gave her a quick side hug, though I don't think they even touched with blankets covering the both of them.

I put my hand on her forehead to check her temperature, almost flinching at how cold she was - even more so than usual. I quickly pulled her into my side to warm her up. "Leo, can you stoke the fire?”  
  
“On it.” Leo summoned a baseball-sized clump of flames and lobbed it into the campfire.  
  
“Do I look that bad?” Theo shivered.  
  
“Nah,” I said.  
  
“You’re a terrible liar,” she retorted. “Where are we?”  
  
“Pikes Peak,” I said. “Colorado.”  
  
“But that’s, what - five hundred miles from Omaha?”  
  
“Something like that,” I agreed. “I harnessed the storm spirits to bring us this far. They didn’t like it - went a little faster than I wanted, almost crashed us into the mountainside before I could get them back in the bag. I’m not going to be trying that again.”  
  
“Why are we here?”  
  
Leo sniffed. “That’s what I asked him.”  
  
I gazed into the storm, trying to see the trail in the air again. “That glittery wind trail we saw yesterday? It was still in the sky, though it had faded a lot. I followed it until I couldn’t see it anymore. Then - honestly I’m not sure. I just felt like this was the right place to stop.”  
  
“’Course it is.” Coach Hedge spit out some cudgel splinters. “Aeolus’s floating palace should be anchored above us, right at the peak. This is one of his favorite spots to dock.”  
  
“Maybe that was it.” I knit my eyebrows. “I don’t know. Something else, too...”  
  
“The Hunters were heading west,” Piper remembered. “Do you think they’re around here?”  
  
I rubbed my forearm, my tattoos feeling like they were fresh. Theo put her hand on them, and I realized I'd been softly scratching them. She took my hand and looked at my face. “I don’t see how anyone could survive on the mountain right now. The storm’s pretty bad. It’s already the evening before the solstice, but we didn’t have much choice except to wait out the storm here. We had to give you some time to rest before we tried moving.”  
  
Coach Hedge chewed on his club and spit splinters into the fire.  
  
Leo broke out some cooking supplies and started frying burger patties on an iron skillet. “So, guys, long as all of us are nicely cuddled up for story time... something I’ve been meaning to tell you. On the way to Omaha, I had this dream. Kinda hard to understand with the static and the Wheel of Fortune breaking in-”  
  
“Wheel of Fortune?” I assumed Leo was kidding, and judging from Piper's tone of voice, so was she, but when he looked up from his burgers, his expression was deadly serious.  
  
“The thing is,” he said, “my dad Hephaestus talked to me.”  
  
Leo told us about his dream. In the firelight, with the wind howling, the story was even creepier. I could imagine the static-filled voice of the god warning about giants who were the sons of Tartarus, and about Leo losing some friends along the way.

Piper looked like she was terrified. “I don’t understand. If demigods and gods have to work together to kill the giants, why would the gods stay silent? If they need us-”  
  
“Ha,” said Coach Hedge. “The gods hate needing humans. They like to be needed by humans, but not the other way around. Things will have to get a whole lot worse before Zeus admits he made a mistake closing Olympus.”  
  
“Coach,” Piper said, “that was almost an intelligent comment.”  
  
Hedge huffed. “What? I’m intelligent! I’m not surprised you cupcakes haven’t heard of the Giant War. The gods don’t like to talk about it. Bad PR to admit you needed mortals to help beat an enemy. That’s just embarrassing.”  
  
“There’s more, though,” I said. “When I dreamed about Hera in her cage, she said Zeus was acting unusually paranoid. And Hera - she said she went to those ruins because a voice had been speaking in her head. What if someone’s influencing the gods, like Medea influenced us?”  
  
Theo shuddered. I looked at her, but she quickly returned her gaze to the fire. I could feel the rigid tension in her entire body.  
  
Leo set hamburger buns on the skillet to toast. “Yeah, Hephaestus said something similar, like Zeus was acting weirder than usual. But what bothered me was the stuff my dad didn’t say. Like a couple of times he was talking about the demigods, and how he had so many kids and all. I don’t know. He acted like getting the greatest demigods together was going to be almost impossible - like Hera was trying, but it was a really stupid thing to do, and there was some secret Hephaestus wasn’t supposed to tell me.”

I shifted.  
  
“Chiron was the same way back at camp,” I said. “He mentioned a sacred oath not to discuss - something. Coach, you know anything about that?”  
  
“Nah. I’m just a satyr. They don’t tell us the juicy stuff. Especially an old-” He stopped himself.  
  
“An old guy like you?” Piper asked. “But you’re not that old, are you?”  
  
“Hundred and six,” the coach muttered.  
  
Leo coughed. “Say what?”

"Fifty-three in human years, guys. Gleeson can still kick some ass if he wants too." Theo spoke up, and even I could see she was comforting the coach.  
  
"Exactly, so don’t catch your panties on fire, Valdez. Still, yeah, I made some enemies on the Council of Cloven Elders. I’ve been a protector a longtime. But they started saying I was getting unpredictable. Too violent. Can you imagine?”  
  
“Wow.” Piper tried not to look at us. “That’s hard to believe.”  
  
Coach scowled. “Yeah, then finally we get a good war going with the Titans," - I felt Theo flinch at my side - "and do they put me on the front lines? No! They send me as far away as possible - the Canadian frontier, can you believe it? Then after the war, they put me out to pasture. The Wilderness School. Bah! Like I’m too old to be helpful just because I like playing offense. All those flower-pickers on the Council - talking about nature.”  
  
“I thought satyrs liked nature,” Piper ventured.  
  
“Shoot, I love nature,” Hedge said. “Nature means big things killing and eating little things! And when you’re a - you know - vertically challenged satyr like me, you get in good shape, you carry a big stick, and you don’t take nothing from no one! That’s nature.” Hedge snorted indignantly. “Flower-pickers. Anyway, I hope you got something vegetarian cooking, Valdez. I don’t do flesh.”  
  
“Yeah, Coach. Don’t eat your cudgel. I got some tofu patties here. Piper and Dor are vegetarians too. I’ll throw them on in a second.”  
  
The smell of frying burgers filled the air. Theo scrunched up her nose in mild disgust. I liked it better when she did that - from, I don't know, embarrassment? Amusement? - when I call her Theo.  
  
I noticed Piper looking troubled. I wanted her to look at me, so I could ask her what was going on, but she seemed to be avoiding everyone's gaze - looking into the fire, just as Theo was.  
  
Leo put tofu patties on the skillet. The wind kept raging as he handed out the food to everyone. Coach Hedge started eating the tofu burger in big bites, the whole thing folded inside the paper plate like a taco. Theo ate in small bites, still looking into the fire. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts, and I could almost see the gears turning in her head, until Piper spoke up.  
  
“We need to talk.” Piper sat up so she could face everyone. “I don’t want to hide anything from you guys anymore.”  
  
We all looked at her with our mouths full of burger.  
  
“Three nights before the Grand Canyon trip,” she said, “I had a dream vision - a giant, telling me my father had been taken hostage. He told me I had to cooperate, or my dad would be killed.”  
  
The flames crackled.  
  
Finally I said, “Enceladus? You mentioned that name before.”  
  
Coach Hedge whistled. “Big giant. Breathes fire. Not somebody I’d want barbecuing my daddy goat.”  
  
I gave him a _shut up_ look. “Piper, go on. What happened next?”  
  
“I - I tried to reach my dad, but all I got was his personal assistant, and she told me not to worry.”  
  
“Jane?” Leo remembered. “Didn’t Medea say something about controlling her?”  
  
Piper nodded. “To get my dad back, I had to sabotage this quest. I didn’t realize it would be the four of us. Then after we started the quest, Enceladus sent me another warning: He told me he wanted you three dead. He wants me to lead you to a mountain. I don’t know exactly which one, but it’s in the Bay Area - I could see the Golden Gate Bridge from the summit. I have to be there by noon on the solstice, tomorrow. An exchange.”  
  
Theo scooted next to her and put her arm around Piper. “Gods, Pipes. I’m so sorry.”  
  
Leo nodded. “No kidding. You’ve been carrying this around for a week? Piper, we could help you.”  
  
She glared at them. “Why don’t you yell at me or something? I was ordered to kill you!”  
  
“Aw, come on,” I said. “You’ve saved us both on this quest. I’d put my life in your hands any day.”  
  
“Same,” Leo said. “Can I have a hug too?”  
  
“You don’t get it!” Piper said. “I’ve probably just killed my dad, telling you this.”  
  
“I doubt it.” Coach Hedge belched. “Giant hasn’t gotten what he wants yet, so he still needs your dad for leverage. He’ll wait until the deadline passes, see if you show up. He wants you to divert the quest to this mountain, right?”  
  
Piper nodded uncertainly.  
  
“So that means Hera is being kept somewhere else,” Theo reasoned, to which Hedge nodded. “And she has to be saved by the same day. So you have to choose - rescue your dad, or rescue Hera. If you go after Hera, only then will Enceladus start his revenge. Besides, Enceladus would never let you go even if you cooperated. You’re obviously one of the eight in the Great Prophecy.”  
  
“So we have no choice,” Piper said miserably. “We have to save Hera, or the giant king gets unleashed. That’s our quest. The world depends on it. And Enceladus seems to have ways of watching me. He isn’t stupid. He’ll know if we change course and go the wrong way. He’ll kill my dad.”  
  
“He’s not going to kill your dad,” Leo said. “We’ll save him.”  
  
“We don’t have time!” Piper cried. “Besides, it’s a trap.”  
  
“We’re your friends, beauty queen,” Leo said. “We’re not going to let your dad die. We just gotta figure out a plan.”  
  
Coach Hedge grumbled. “Would help if we knew where this mountain was. Maybe Aeolus can tell you that. The Bay Area has a bad reputation for demigods. Old home of the Titans, Mount Othrys, sits over Mount Tam, where Atlas holds up the sky. I hope that’s not the mountain you saw.”  
  
Piper tried to remember the vista in her dreams. “I don’t think so. This was inland.”  
  
I frowned at the fire, but as I thought more, the memories faded farther from me.  
  
“Bad reputation... that doesn’t seem right. The Bay Area...”  
  
“You think you’ve been there?” Theo asked.  
  
“I...” I felt like I was almost on the edge of a breakthrough. Then it all slipped away. “I don’t know. Theo, what happened to Mount Othrys?” She scrunched up her nose and took a big breath.

“Well, Kronos built a new palace there last summer. Big and very evil place, it was supposed to be the headquarters for his new kingdom. We didn't have to fight any battles there, though. Kronos marched to Manhattan and tried to take Olympus. If I remember right, he left some other Titans in charge of his palace, but after Kronos was defeated in Manhattan," - she looked like she was trying not to cry - "the whole palace just crumbled on its own. The titans must have fled, or something.”  
  
“No,” I said.  
  
Everyone looked at me.  
  
“What do you mean, ‘No’?” Leo asked.  
  
“That’s not what happened. I-” Howls pierced the night. “Did you hear that?”

“Wolves,” Theo said. "They sound close."  
  
I rose and summoned my sword. Leo, Coach Hedge and Theo got to their feet too. Piper tried, but she fell down to her butt.  
  
“Stay there,” I told her. “We’ll protect you.”  
  
I moved in front of Theo, who was still shivering, but had a small dagger out - one I hadn't seen before.  
  
Wolves edged into the firelight - black beasts bigger than Great Danes, with ice and snow caked on their fur. Their fangs gleamed, and their glowing red eyes looked disturbingly intelligent. The wolf in front was almost as tall as a horse, his mouth stained as if he’d just made a fresh kill.  
  
Piper pulled her dagger out of its sheath.  
  
On instinct, I stepped forward. " _Relinquete, hic non rem habentes._ "  _Leave, for you have no business here._ I realized I'd spoken Latin without hesitation

The alpha wolf curled his lip. The fur stood up along his spine. One of his lieutenants tried to advance, but the alpha wolf snapped at his ear. Then all of the wolves backed into the dark.  
  
“Dude, I gotta study Latin.” Leo’s hammer shook in his hand. “What’d you say, Jason?”  
  
Hedge cursed. “Whatever it was, it wasn’t enough. Look.”  
  
The wolves were coming back, but the alpha wolf wasn’t with them. They didn’t attack. They waited - at least a dozen now, in a rough semicircle just outside the firelight, blocking the cave exit.  
  
The coach hefted his club. “Here’s the plan. I’ll kill them all, and you guys escape.”  
  
“Coach, they’ll rip you apart,” Piper said.  
  
“Nah, I’m good.”  
  
Then I saw the silhouette of a man coming through the storm, wading through the wolf pack.  
  
“Stick together,” I said. “They respect a pack. And Hedge, no crazy stuff. We’re not leaving you or anyone else behind.”  
  
The wolves parted, and the man stepped into the firelight. His hair was greasy and ragged, the color of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. His robes were tattered fur - wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and several others I couldn’t identify. The furs didn’t look cured, and from the smell, they weren’t very fresh. His frame was lithe and muscular, like a distance runner’s. But the most horrible thing was his face. His thin pale skin was pulled tight over his skull. His teeth were sharpened like fangs. His eyes glowed bright red like his wolves’ - and they fixed on Jason with absolute hatred.  
  
“Ecce,” he said, “filii Romani.”  
  
“Speak English, wolf man!” Hedge bellowed.  
  
The wolf man snarled. “Tell your faun to mind his tongue, son of Rome. Or he’ll be my first snack.”  
  
The wolf man studied our little group. His nostrils twitched. “So it’s true,” he mused. “A child of Aphrodite. A son of Hephaestus. A daughter of Lyssa. A faun. And a child of Rome, of Lord Jupiter, no less. All together, without killing each other. How interesting.”  
  
“You were told about us?” Jason asked. “By whom?”  
  
The man snarled - perhaps a laugh, perhaps a challenge. “Oh, we’ve been patrolling for you all across the west, demigod, hoping we’d be the first to find you. The giant king will reward me well when he rises. I am Lycaon, king of the wolves. And my pack is hungry.”  
  
The wolves snarled in the darkness.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, I saw Leo move, but I kept my attention on Lycaon.  
  
Lycaon glared at my sword. He moved to each side as if looking for an opening, but my blade moved with him.  
  
“Leave,” I ordered. “There’s no food for you here.”  
  
“Unless you want tofu burgers,” Leo offered.  
  
Lycaon bared his fangs. Apparently he wasn’t a tofu fan.  
  
“If I had my way,” Lycaon said with regret, “I’d kill you first, son of Jupiter. Your father made me what I am. I was the powerful mortal king of Arcadia, with fifty fine sons, and Zeus slew them all with his lightning bolts.”  
  
“Ha,” Coach Hedge said. “For good reason!”  
  
Jason glanced over his shoulder. “Coach, you know this clown?”  
  
“I do,” Theo answered.  
  
“Lycaon invited Zeus to dinner,” she said. “But the king wasn’t sure it was really Zeus. So to test his powers, Lycaon tried to feed him human flesh. Zeus got outraged-”  
  
“And killed my sons!” Lycaon howled. The wolves behind him howled too.  
  
“So Zeus turned him into a wolf,” Piper added. “They call... they call werewolves lycanthropes, named after him, the first werewolf.”  
  
“The king of wolves,” Theo finished, before Hedge spoke up. “An immortal, smelly, vicious mutt.”  
  
Lycaon growled. “I will tear you apart, faun!”  
  
“Oh, you want some goat, buddy? ’Cause I’ll give you goat.”  
  
“Stop it,” I said. “Lycaon, you said you wanted to kill me first, but...?”  
  
“Sadly, Child of Rome, you are spoken for. Since this one” - he waggled his claws at Piper - “has failed to kill you, you are to be delivered alive to the Wolf House. One of my compatriots has asked for the honor of killing you herself.”  
  
“Who?” I said.  
  
The wolf king snickered. “Oh, a great admirer of yours. Apparently, you made quite an impression on her. She will take care of you soon enough, and really I cannot complain. Spilling your blood at the Wolf House should mark my new territory quite well. Lupa will think twice about challenging my pack.”  
  
Piper struggled to her feet and walked forward,  
  
“You’re going to leave now,” Piper said, “before we destroy you.”  
  
Shivering in her blankets, pale and sweaty and barely able to hold a knife, she didn't really look very threatening.  
  
Lycaon’s red eyes crinkled with humor. “A brave try, girl. I admire that. Perhaps I’ll make your end quick. Only the son of Jupiter is needed alive. The rest of you, I’m afraid, are dinner.”  
  
I took a step forward. “You’re not killing anyone, wolf man. Not without going through me.”  
  
Lycaon howled and extended his claws. I slashed at him, but my golden sword passed straight through as if the wolf king wasn’t there.  
  
Lycaon laughed. “Gold, bronze, steel - none of these are any good against my wolves, son of Jupiter.”  
  
“Silver!” Piper cried. “Aren’t werewolves hurt by silver?”  
  
“We don’t have any silver!” Jason said.

"All I have is this!" Theo held up her small dagger - only just a bit bigger than her throwing knives. It wouldn't do much, especially in her weakened state.  
  
Wolves leaped into the firelight. Hedge charged forward with an elated “Woot!”  
  
But Leo struck first. He threw a glass bottle and it shattered on the ground, splattering liquid all over the wolves - the unmistakable smell of gasoline. He shot a burst of fire at the puddle, and a wall of flames erupted.  
  
Wolves yelped and retreated. Several caught fire and had to run back into the snow. Even Lycaon looked uneasily at the barrier of flames now separating his wolves from the demigods.  
  
“Aw, c’mon,” Coach Hedge complained. “I can’t hit them if they’re way over there.”  
  
Every time a wolf came closer, Leo shot a new wave of fire from his hands, but each effort seemed to make him a little more tired, and the gasoline was already dying down. “I can’t summon any more gas!” Leo warned. Then his face turned red. “Wow, that came out wrong. I mean the burning kind. Gonna take the tool belt a while to recharge. What you got, man?”  
  
“Nothing,” I said. “Not even more than one tiny weapon that works.”  
  
“Lightning?” Piper asked.  
  
I concentrated, but nothing happened. “I think the snowstorm is interfering, or something.”  
  
“Unleash the venti!” Piper said.  
  
“Then we’ll have nothing to give Aeolus,” I argued. “We’ll have come all this way for nothing.”  
  
Lycaon laughed. “I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, heroes. Pray to whatever gods you wish. Zeus did not grant me mercy, and you will have none from me.”  
  
The flames began to sputter out. I cursed and dropped my sword. I crouched,  ready to go hand-to-claws. Leo pulled his hammer out of his pack. Piper raised her dagger - not much, but it was all she had. Theo lifted her right hand, holding the dagger, and grey began to swirl around her left hand as she flexed her fingers. Coach Hedge hefted his club, and he was the only one who looked excited about dying.  
  
Then a ripping sound cut through the wind - like a piece of tearing cardboard. A long stick sprouted from the neck of the nearest wolf - the shaft of a silver arrow. The wolf writhed and fell, melting into a puddle of shadow.  
  
More arrows. More wolves fell. The pack broke in confusion. An arrow flashed toward Lycaon, but the wolf king caught it in midair. Then he yelled in pain. When he dropped the arrow, it left a charred, smoking gash across his palm. Another arrow caught him in the shoulder, and the wolf king staggered.

“Curse them!” Lycaon yelled. He growled at his pack, and the wolves turned and ran. Lycaon fixed me with those glowing red eyes. “This isn’t over, boy.”

The wolf king disappeared into the night.  
  
Seconds later, I heard more wolves baying, but the sound was different - less threatening, more like hunting dogs on the scent. A smaller white wolf burst into the cave, followed by two more.  
  
Hedge said, “Kill it?”  
  
“No!” Theo ordered, grinning. “Wait.”  
  
The wolves tilted their heads and studied the campers with huge golden eyes. One of them, a little larger than the rest, trotted up to Theo and began nuzzling her leg.  
  
A heartbeat later, the wolves' masters appeared: a troop of hunters in white-and-gray winter camouflage, at least half a dozen. All of them carried bows, with quivers of glowing silver arrows on their backs.  
  
Their faces were covered with parka hoods, but clearly they were all girls. One, a little taller than the rest, crouched in the firelight and snatched up the arrow that had wounded Lycaon’s hand.  
  
“So close.” She turned to her companions. “Phoebe, stay with me. Watch the entrance. The rest of you, follow Lycaon. We can’t lose him now. I’ll catch up with you.”  
  
The other hunters mumbled agreement and disappeared, heading after Lycaon’s pack.  
  
The girl in white turned toward them, her face still hidden in her parka hood. “We’ve been following that demon’s trail for over a week. Is everyone all right? No one got bit?”  
  
I stood frozen at the girl. Theo did anything but freeze; she ran at the girl and tackled her in a hug.


	20. Chapter 20

**THEODORA**

Thalia hugged me back tightly. We let go of eachother, and I grinned softly at her. "Hey, Pines." "'Sup, Psycho. Long time no see." She retorted with a large grin. I stuffed my silver dagger back into its sheath, hidden in my combat boot.

"Thalia." I looked back and saw Jason was staring at her.

She pulled down her parka hood. Her hair was spiky black, with a silver tiara across her brow. Her face had a super-healthy glow to it, as if she were a little more than human, and her eyes were brilliant blue.  
  
“Do I know you?” Thalia asked.  
  
I took a breath. “This might be a shock, but-”  
  
“Thalia.” Jason stepped forward, his voice trembling. “I’m Jason, your brother.”  
  
For a minute, Jason and Thalia faced each other, stunned. Then Thalia rushed forward and hugged him.  
  
“My gods! She told me you were dead!” She gripped Jason’s face and seemed to be examining everything about it. “Thank Artemis, it is you. That little scar on your lip - you tried to eat a stapler when you were two!”  
  
Leo laughed. “Seriously?” I giggled. I'd wondered for a while now where that came from.  
  
Hedge nodded like he approved of Jason’s taste. “Staplers - excellent source of iron.”  
  
“W-wait,” Jason stammered. “Who told you I was dead? What happened?”  
  
At the cave entrance, one of the white wolves barked. Thalia looked back at the wolf and nodded, but she kept her hands on Jason’s face, like she was afraid he might vanish. “My wolf is telling me I don’t have much time, and she’s right. But we have to talk. Let’s sit.”  
  
Piper did better than that. She collapsed. She would’ve cracked her head on the cave floor if Hedge hadn’t caught her.  
  
Thalia rushed over. “What’s wrong with her? Ah - never mind. I see. Hypothermia. Ankle.” She frowned at the satyr. “Don’t you know nature healing?”  
  
Hedge scoffed. “Why do you think she looks this good? Can’t you smell the Gatorade?”  
  
Thalia looked at Leo for the first time, and of course it was an accusatory glare, like _Why did you let the goat be a doctor?_ As if that was Leo’s fault.  
  
“You and the satyr,” Thalia ordered, “take the girls to my friend at the entrance. Phoebe’s an excellent healer.”  
  
“It’s cold out there!” Hedge said. “I’ll freeze my horns off.”  
  
“Come on, Hedge. These two need time to talk.”  
  
“Humph. Fine,” the satyr muttered. “Didn’t even get to brain anybody.”  
  
Hedge carried Piper towards the entrance. Leo slung his arm around me and we were about to follow when Jason called, “Actually, Theo, could you, um, stick around?”  
  
I saw something in Jason’s eyes I didn’t expect: Jason was asking for support. He wanted somebody else there. He was scared, and I didn't need Olympian powers to see it.  
  
Leo winked at me, and left to follow Hedge. I blushed and rejoined the group.  
  
The three of us sat at the fire. For a few minutes, nobody spoke. Jason studied his sister like she was a scary device - one that might explode if handled incorrectly. Thalia seemed more at ease, as if she was used to stumbling across stranger things than long-lost relatives. But still she regarded Jason in a kind of amazed trance, maybe remembering a little two-year-old who tried to eat a stapler.  
  
"Pines... have you had any luck finding Perce?" She shook her head. I sighed softly; I missed my friend. He was one of the few people who was never in any way scared or freaked out by me. I also couldn't bear for Annabeth to be hurting any longer.  
  
A few minutes passed once again before Jason finally spoke up. "Thalia... what happened to our family? Who told you I was dead?”  
  
Thalia tugged at a silver bracelet on her wrist. In the firelight, in her winter camouflage, she almost looked like Khione the snow princess - just as cold and beautiful.  
  
“Do you remember anything?” she asked.  
  
Jason shook his head. “I woke up three days ago on a bus with Leo and Piper.”  
  
I added (with reasonable annoyance), “Hera stole his memories.”  
  
Thalia tensed. “Hera? How do you know that?”  
  
Jason explained about our quest - the prophecy at camp, Hera getting imprisoned, the giant taking Piper’s dad, and the winter solstice deadline.  
  
Thalia was a good listener. Nothing seemed to surprise her - the monsters, the prophecies, the dead rising. Of course, she'd been through about as much as Annie or me or anyone. But when Jason mentioned King Midas, she cursed in Ancient Greek.  
  
“I knew we should’ve burned down his mansion,” she said. “That man’s a menace. But we were so intent on following Lycaon - Well, I’m glad you got away. So Hera’s been... what, hiding you all these years?”  
  
“I don’t know.” Jason brought out the photo from his pocket. “She left me just enough memory to recognize your face.”  
  
Thalia looked at the picture, and her expression softened. “I’d forgotten about that. I left it in Cabin One, didn’t I?”  
  
Jason nodded. “I think Hera wanted for us to meet. When we landed here, at this cave... I had a feeling it was important. Like I knew you were close by. Is that crazy?”  
  
“No," I spoke up. "You two were definitely destined to meet again."  
  
“Jason,” Thalia said, “when you’re dealing with the gods, nothing is too crazy. But you can’t trust Hera, especially since we’re children of Zeus. She hates all children of Zeus.”  
  
“But she said something about Zeus giving her my life as a peace offering. Does that make any sense?”  
  
The color drained from Thalia’s face. “Oh, gods. Mother wouldn’t have... You don’t remember - No, of course you don’t.”  
  
“What?” Jason asked.  
  
Thalia’s features seemed to grow older in the firelight, like her immortality wasn’t working so well. “Jason... I’m not sure how to say this. Our mom wasn’t exactly stable. She caught Zeus’s eye because she was a television actress, and she was beautiful, but she didn’t handle the fame well. She drank, pulled stupid stunts. She was always in the tabloids. She could never get enough attention. Even before you were born, she and I argued all the time. She... she knew Dad was Zeus, and I think that was too much for her to take. It was like the ultimate achievement for her to attract the lord of the sky, and she couldn’t accept it when he left. The thing about the gods... well, they don’t hang around.”  
  
I watched Jason’s face - looking more and more devastated as Thalia described their mom. I put my hand on his arm.  
  
“So...” Jason didn’t seem able to finish the question.  
  
“Jason, you've got friends,” I told him. “Now you've got a sister. You’re not alone.”  
  
Thalia offered her hand, and Jason took it.  
  
“When I was about seven,” she said, “Zeus started visiting Mom again. I think he felt bad about wrecking her life, and he seemed - different somehow. A little older and sterner, more fatherly toward me. For a while, Mom improved. She loved having Zeus around, bringing her presents, causing the sky to rumble. She always wanted more attention. That’s the year you were born. Mom... well, I never got along with her, but you gave me a reason to hang around. You were so cute. And I didn’t trust Mom to look after you. Of course, Zeus eventually stopped coming by again. He probably couldn’t stand Mom’s demands anymore, always pestering him to let her visit Olympus, or to make her immortal or eternally beautiful. When he left for good, Mom got more and more unstable. That was about the time the monsters started attacking me. Mom blamed Hera. She claimed the goddess was coming after you too - that Hera had barely tolerated my birth, but two demigod children from the same family was too big an insult. Mom even said she hadn’t wanted to name you Jason, but Zeus insisted, as a way to appease Hera because the goddess liked that name. I didn’t know what to believe.”

“How did we get separated?" Jason asked. I sighed, having accidentally seen this in Thalia's trauma's, back when I couldn't control my powers as good yet.  
  
Thalia squeezed her brother’s hand. “If I’d known you were alive... gods, things would’ve been so different. But when you were two, Mom packed us in the car for a family vacation. We drove up north, toward the wine country, to this park she wanted to show us. I remember thinking it was strange because Mom never took us anywhere, and she was acting super nervous. I was holding your hand, walking you toward this big building in the middle of the park, and...” She took a shaky breath. I reached out and squeezed her shoulder, to which she smiled at me gratefully.

“Mom told me to go back to the car and get the picnic basket. I didn’t want to leave you alone with her, but it was only for a few minutes. When I came back... Mom was kneeling on the stone steps, hugging herself and crying. She said - she said you were gone. She said Hera claimed you and you were as good as dead. I didn’t know what she’d done. I was afraid she’d completely lost her mind. I ran all over the place looking for you, but you’d just vanished. She had to drag me away, kicking and screaming. For the next few days I was hysterical. I don’t remember everything, but I called the police on Mom and they questioned her for a long time. Afterward, we fought. She told me I’d betrayed her, that I should support her, like she was the only one who mattered. Finally I couldn’t stand it. Your disappearance was the last straw. I ran away from home, and I never went back, not even when Mom died a few years ago. I thought you were gone forever. I never told anyone about you - not even Annabeth or Luke," - I flinched at the mention at my cousin. - "my two best friends. It was just too painful. Dor only knew because she'd accidentally seen it in my head.” I managed a soft smile at her, but I ached a little inside. Luke was still a very raw subject for me.  
  
“Chiron knew.” Jason’s voice sounded far away. “When I got to camp, he took one look at me and said, ‘You should be dead.’”  
  
“That doesn’t make sense,” Thalia insisted. “I never told him.” "Neither did I," I added. “But the important thing is that you’ve got each other now. You two are lucky.”  
  
Thalia nodded, after sending an apologetic glance towards me. “Look at you. You’re my age. You’ve grown up.”  
  
“But where have I been?” Jason said. “How could I be missing all that time? And the Roman stuff...”  
  
Thalia frowned. “The Roman stuff?”  
  
“Your brother speaks Latin,” I said. “He calls gods by their Roman names, and he’s got tattoos.” I pointed out the marks on Jason’s arm. Then I gave Thalia the rundown about the other weird stuff that had happened: Boreas turning into Aquilon, Lycaon calling Jason a “child of Rome,” and the wolves backing off when Jason spoke Latin to them.  
  
Thalia plucked her bowstring. “Latin. Zeus sometimes spoke Latin, the second time he stayed with Mom. Like I said, he seemed different, more formal.”  
  
“You think he was in his Roman aspect?” Jason asked. “And that’s why I think of myself as a child of Jupiter?”  
  
“Possibly,” Thalia said. “I’ve never heard of something like that happening, but it might explain why you think in Roman terms, why you can speak Latin rather than Ancient Greek. That would make you unique. Still, it doesn’t explain how you’ve survived without Camp Half-Blood. A child of Zeus, or Jupiter, or whatever you want to call him - you would’ve been hounded by monsters. If you were on your own, you should’ve died years ago. I know I wouldn’t have been able to survive without friends. You would’ve needed training, a safe haven-”  
  
“He wasn’t alone,” I said. “We’ve heard about others like him.”  
  
Thalia looked at him strangely. “What do you mean?”  
  
I told her about the slashed-up purple shirt in Medea’s department store, and the story the Cyclopes told about the child of Mercury who spoke Latin.  
  
“Isn’t there anywhere else for demigods?” Jason asked. “I mean besides Camp Half-Blood? Something for those who are like me?"  
  
“I’ve been all over the country,” Thalia mused. “I’ve never seen evidence of another camp, or demigods in purple shirts. Still...” Her voice trailed off, like she’d just had a troubling thought.  
  
“What?” Jason asked.  
  
Thalia shook her head. “I’ll have to talk to the goddess. Maybe Artemis will guide us.”  
  
“She’s still talking to you?” Jason asked. “Most of the gods have gone silent.”  
  
“Artemis follows her own rules,” Thalia said. “She has to be careful not to let Zeus know, but she thinks Zeus is being ridiculous closing Olympus. She’s the one who set us on the trail of Lycaon. She said we’d find a lead to Percy.”  
  
“So what would Lycaon have to do with it?” I thought out loud. “And how does it connect to us?”  
  
“We need to find out soon,” Thalia admitted. “If your deadline is tomorrow, we’re wasting time. Aeolus could tell you-”  
  
The white wolf appeared again at the doorway and yipped insistently.  
  
“I have to get moving.” Thalia stood. “Otherwise I’ll lose the other Hunters’ trail. First, though, I’ll take you to Aeolus’s palace.”  
  
“If you can’t, it’s okay,” Jason said, though he sounded kind of distressed.  
  
“Oh, please.” Thalia smiled and helped us up. “I haven’t had a brother in years. I think I can stand a few minutes with you before you get annoying. Now, let’s go!”


	21. Chapter 21

**LEO**

The Hunter Phoebe had set up this silver tent pavilion thing right outside the cave. How she’d done it so fast, Leo had no idea, but inside was a kerosene heater keeping them toasty warm and a bunch of comfy throw pillows. Piper looked back to normal, decked out in a new parka, gloves, and camo pants like a Hunter. The four of us were kicking back, drinking hot chocolate.  
  
"Phoebe,” Thalia said, once they'd joined us. “Could you get Dor and Jason some extra coats? And I think we can spare some time for a little hot chocolate.”

“Cheers!” said Coach Hedge. He crunched down his plastic thermos cup.  
  
“That cannot be good for your intestines,” I said.  
  
Thalia patted Piper on the back. “You up for moving?”  
  
Piper nodded. “Thanks to Phoebe, yeah. You guys are really good at this wilderness survival thing. I feel like I could run ten miles.”  
  
Thalia winked at Jason and Dor. “She’s tough for a child of Aphrodite. I like this one.”  
  
“Hey, I could run ten miles too,” I volunteered. “Tough Hephaestus kid here. Let’s hit it.”  
  
Naturally, Thalia ignored me.  
  
It took Phoebe exactly six seconds to break camp, which I could not believe. The tent self-collapsed into a square the size of a pack of chewing gum. I wanted to ask her for the blueprints, but we didn’t have time.  
  
Thalia ran uphill through the snow, hugging a tiny little path on the side of the mountain, and soon I was regretting trying to look macho, because the Hunters left me in the dust.  
  
Coach Hedge leaped around like a happy mountain goat, coaxing them on like he used to do on track days at school. “Come on, Valdez! Pick up the pace! Let’s chant. I’ve got a girl in Kalamazoo-”  
  
“Let’s not,” Thalia snapped.  
  
So we ran in silence.  
  
I fell in next to Jason and Dor at the back of the group. “How you doing, man?”  
  
Jason’s expression was enough of an answer: Not good.  
  
“Thalia takes it so calmly,” Jason said. “Like it’s no big deal that I appeared. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but... she’s not like me. She seems so much more together.”  
  
“Hey, she’s not fighting amnesia,” I said. “Plus, she’s had more time to get used to this whole demigod thing. You fight monsters and talk to gods for a while, you probably get used to surprises.”  
  
“Maybe,” Jason said. “I just wish I understood what happened when I was two, why my mom got rid of me. Thalia ran away because of me.”  
  
“Hey, whatever’s happened, it wasn’t your fault. And your sister seems pretty cool. She’s a lot like you.”   
  
Jason took that in silence. I wondered if I’d said the right things. I wanted to make Jason feel better, but this was way outside my comfort zone.  
  
I wished I could reach inside my tool belt and pick just the right wrench to fix Jason’s memory - maybe a little hammer - bonk the sticking spot and make everything run right. That would be a lot easier than trying to talk it through. Not good with organic life forms. Thanks for those inherited traits, Dad.  
  
I was so lost in thought, I didn’t realize the Hunters had stopped. I slammed into Thalia and nearly sent us both down the side of the mountain the hard way. Fortunately, the Hunter was light on her feet. She steadied us both, then pointed up.  
  
“That,” I choked, “is a really large rock.”  
  
We stood near the summit of Pikes Peak. Below them the world was blanketed in clouds. The air was so thin, I could hardly breathe. I looked next to me, but Dor didn't seem to be breathing any harder than usual. Night had set in, but a full moon shone and the stars were incredible. Stretching out to the north and south, peaks of other mountains rose from the clouds like islands - or teeth.  
  
But the real show was above us. Hovering in the sky, about a quarter mile away, was a massive free-floating island of glowing purple stone. It was hard to judge its size, but I figured it was at least as wide as a football stadium and just as tall. The sides were rugged cliffs, riddled with caves, and every once in a while a gust of wind burst out with a sound like a pipe organ blast. At the top of the rock, brass walls ringed some kind of a fortress.  
  
The only thing connecting Pikes Peak to the floating island was a narrow bridge of ice that glistened in the moonlight.  
  
Then I realized the bridge wasn’t exactly ice, because it wasn’t solid. As the winds changed direction, the bridge snaked around—blurring and thinning, in some places even breaking into a dotted line like the vapor trail of a plane.

“We’re not seriously crossing that,” I said.  
  
Thalia shrugged. “I’m not a big fan of heights, I’ll admit. But if you want to get to Aeolus’s fortress, this is the only way.”  
  
“Is the fortress always hanging there?” Piper asked. “How can people not notice it sitting on top of Pikes Peak?”  
  
“The Mist,” Thalia said. “Still, mortals do notice it indirectly. Some days, Pikes Peak looks purple. People say it’s a trick of the light, but actually it’s the color of Aeolus’s palace, reflecting off the mountain face.”  
  
“It’s enormous,” Jason said.  
  
Thalia laughed. “You should see Olympus, little brother.”  
  
“You’re serious? You’ve been there?”  
  
Thalia grimaced as if it wasn’t a good memory. Dor looked away, then up, blinked two or three times and took a large breath - I knew very well that this technique was her trying not to cry. It's a good technique. “We should go across in two different groups. The bridge is fragile.”  
  
“That’s reassuring,” I said. “Jason, can’t you just fly us up there?”  
  
Thalia laughed. Then she seemed to realize my question wasn’t a joke. “Wait... Jason, you can fly?”  
  
Jason gazed up at the floating fortress. “Well, sort of. More like I can control the winds. But the winds up here are so strong, I’m not sure I’d want to try. Thalia, you mean... you can’t fly?”  
  
For a second, Thalia looked genuinely afraid. Then she got her expression under control. I realized she was a lot more scared of heights than she was letting on.  
  
“Truthfully,” she said, “I’ve never tried. Might be better if we stuck to the bridge.”  
  
Coach Hedge tapped the ice vapor trail with his hoof, then jumped onto the bridge. Amazingly, it held his weight. “Easy! I’ll go first. Piper, Theodora, come on, girls. I’ll give you a hand.”  
  
“No, that’s okay,” Piper started to say, but the coach grabbed her hand and Dors in the other and dragged them up the bridge.  
  
When they were about halfway, the bridge still seemed to be holding them just fine.  
  
Thalia turned to her Hunter friend. “Phoebe, I’ll be back soon. Go find the others. Tell them I’m on my way.”  
  
“You sure?” Phoebe narrowed her eyes at me and Jason, like we might kidnap Thalia or something.  
  
“It’s fine,” Thalia promised.  
  
Phoebe nodded reluctantly, then raced down the mountain path, the white wolves at her heels.  
  
“Jason, Leo, just be careful where you step,” Thalia said. “It hardly ever breaks.”  
  
“It hasn’t met me yet,” I muttered, but he and Jason led the way up the bridge.  
  
Halfway up, things went wrong, and of course it was my fault. Dor, Piper and Hedge had already made it safely to the top and were waving at them, encouraging them to keep climbing, but I got distracted. I was thinking about bridges - how I would design something way more stable than this shifting ice vapor business if this were my palace. I was pondering braces and support columns. Then a sudden revelation stopped me in his tracks.  
  
“Why do they have a bridge?” I asked.  
  
Thalia frowned. “Leo, this isn’t a good place to stop. What do you mean?”  
  
“They’re wind spirits,” I said. “Can’t they fly?”  
  
“Yes, but sometimes they need a way to connect to the world below.”  
  
“So the bridge isn’t always here?” I asked.  
  
Thalia shook her head. “The wind spirits don’t like to anchor to the earth, but sometimes it’s necessary. Like now. They know you’re coming.”  
  
My mind was racing. I was so excited I could almost feel my body’s temperature rising. I couldn’t quite put my thoughts into words, but I knew I was on to something important.  
  
“Leo?” Jason said. “What are you thinking?”  
  
“Oh, gods,” Thalia said. “Keep moving. Look at your feet.”  
  
I shuffled backward. With horror, I realized my body temperature really was rising, just as it had years ago at that picnic table under the pecan tree, when my anger had gotten away from me. Now, excitement was causing the reaction. My pants steamed in the cold air. My shoes were literally smoking, and the bridge didn’t like it. The ice was thinning.  
  
“Leo, stop it,” Jason warned. “You’re going to melt it.”  
  
“I’ll try,” I said. But my body was overheating on its own, running as fast as my thoughts. “Listen, Jason, what did Hera call you in that dream? She called you a bridge.”  
  
“Leo, seriously, cool down,” Thalia said. “I don’t what you’re talking about, but the bridge is-”  
  
“Just listen,” I insisted. “If Jason is a bridge, what’s he connecting? Maybe two different places that normally don’t get along - like the air palace and the ground. You had to be somewhere before this, right? And Hera said you were an exchange.”  
  
“An exchange.” Thalia’s eyes widened. “Oh, gods.”  
  
Jason frowned. “What are you two talking about?”  
  
Thalia murmured something like a prayer. “I understand now why Artemis sent me here. Jason - she told me to hunt for Lycaon and I would find a clue about Percy. You are the clue. Artemis wanted us to meet so I could hear your story.”  
  
“I don’t understand,” he protested. “I don’t have a story. I don’t remember anything.”  
  
“But Leo’s right,” Thalia said. “It’s all connected. If we just knew where-”  
  
I snapped my fingers. “Jason, what did you call that place in your dream? That ruined house. The Wolf House?”  
  
Thalia nearly choked. “The Wolf House? Jason, why didn’t you tell me that! That’s where they’re keeping Hera?”  
  
“You know where it is?” Jason asked.  
  
Then the bridge dissolved. I would’ve fallen to my death, but Jason grabbed my coat and pulled me to safety. The two of us scrambled up the bridge, and when we turned, Thalia was on the other side of a thirty-foot chasm. The bridge was continuing to melt.  
  
“Go!” Thalia shouted, backing down the bridge as it crumbled. “Find out where the giant is keeping Piper’s dad. Save him! I’ll take the Hunters to the Wolf House and hold it until you can get there. We can do both!”  
  
“But where is the Wolf House?” Jason shouted.  
  
“You know where it is, little brother!” She was so far away now that we could barely hear her voice over the wind. I was pretty sure she said: “I’ll see you there. I promise.”  
  
Then she turned and raced down the dissolving bridge.  
  
Jason and I had no time to stand around. We climbed for their lives, the ice vapor thinning under their feet. Several times, Jason grabbed me and used the winds to keep them aloft, but it was more like bungee jumping than flying.  
  
When we reached the floating island, Piper, Dor and Coach Hedge pulled us aboard just as the last of the vapor bridge vanished. We stood gasping for breath at the base of a stone stairway chiseled into the side of the cliff, leading up to the fortress.  
  
I looked back down. The top of Pikes Peak floated below us in a sea of clouds, but there was no sign of Thalia. And I had just burned our only exit.  
  
“What happened?” Piper demanded. “Leo, why are your clothes smoking?”  
  
“I got a little heated,” I gasped. “Sorry, Jason. Honest. I didn’t-”  
  
“It’s all right,” Jason said, but his expression was grim. “We’ve got less than twenty-four hours to rescue a goddess and Piper’s dad. Let’s go see the king of the winds.”


	22. Chapter 22

**JASON**

I had found my sister and lost her in less than an hour. As we climbed the cliffs of the floating island, I kept looking back, but Thalia was gone.  
  
Despite what she’d said about meeting me again, I wondered. She’d found a new family with the Hunters, and a new mother in Artemis. She seemed so confident and comfortable with her life, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be part of it. And she seemed so set on finding her friend Percy. Had she ever searched for me that way?  
  
 _Not fair_ , I told myself. She thought you were dead.  
  
I could barely tolerate what she’d said about our mom. It was almost like Thalia had handed me a baby - a really loud, ugly baby - and said, _Here, this is yours. Carry it_. I didn’t want to carry it. I didn’t want to look at it or claim it. I didn’t want to know that I had an unstable mother who’d gotten rid of me to appease a goddess. No wonder Thalia had run away.  
  
Then I remembered the Zeus cabin at Camp Half-Blood - that tiny little alcove Thalia had used as a bunk, out of sight from the glowering statue of the sky god. Our dad wasn’t much of a bargain, either. I understood why Thalia had renounced that part of her life too, but I was still resentful. I couldn’t be so lucky. I was left holding the bag - literally.  
  
The golden backpack of winds was strapped over my shoulders. The closer we got to Aeolus’s palace, the heavier the bag got. The winds struggled, rumbling and bumping around.  
  
The only one who seemed in a good mood was Coach Hedge. He kept bounding up the slippery staircase and trotting back down. “Come on, cupcakes! Only a few thousand more steps!”  
  
As we climbed, Leo and Piper left me in my silence. Maybe they could sense my bad mood. Theo, though, had taken my hand a few minutes ago. She kept looking up at me with those big eyes, and I wondered if she was worried. Or maybe she was thinking about Thalia’s idea. We'd told her what Thalia had said on the bridge - how they could save both Piper's dad and Hera - but I didn’t really understand how we were going to do that, and I wasn’t sure if the possibility had made Piper more hopeful or just more anxious.  
  
Leo kept swatting his own legs, checking for signs that his pants were on fire. He wasn’t steaming anymore, but the incident on the ice bridge had really freaked me out. Leo hadn’t seemed to realize that he had smoke coming out his ears and flames dancing through his hair. If Leo started spontaneously combusting every time he got excited, we were going to have a tough time taking him anywhere. I imagined trying to get food at a restaurant. _I’ll have a cheeseburger and—Ahhh! My friend’s on fire! Get me a bucket!_  
  
Mostly, though, I worried about what Leo had said. I didn’t want to be a bridge, or an exchange, or anything else. I just wanted to know where I’d come from. And Thalia had looked so unnerved when Leo mentioned the burned-out house in his dreams - the place the wolf Lupa had told me was his starting point. How did Thalia know that place, and why did she assume I could find it?  
  
The answer seemed close. But the nearer I got to it, the less it cooperated, like the winds on my back.  
  
Finally we arrived at the top of the island. Bronze walls marched all the way around the fortress grounds, though I couldn’t imagine who would possibly attack this place. Twenty-foot-high gates opened for them, and a road of polished purple stone led up to the main citadel - a white-columned rotunda, Greek style, like one of the monuments in Washington, D.C. - except for the cluster of satellite dishes and radio towers on the roof.

“That’s bizarre,” Piper said.  
  
“Guess you can’t get cable on a floating island,” Leo said. “Dang, check this guy’s front yard.”  
  
The rotunda sat in the center of a quarter-mile circle. The grounds were amazing in a scary way. They were divided into four sections like big pizza slices, each one representing a season.  
  
The section on their right was an icy waste, with bare trees and a frozen lake. Snowmen rolled across the landscape as the wind blew, so I wasn’t sure if they were decorations or alive.  
  
To their left was an autumn park with gold and red trees. Mounds of leaves blew into patterns - gods, people, animals that ran after each other before scattering back into leaves.  
  
In the distance, I could see two more areas behind the rotunda. One looked like a green pasture with sheep made out of clouds. The last section was a desert where tumbleweeds scratched strange patterns in the sand like Greek letters, smiley faces, and a huge advertisement that read: watch Aeolus nightly!  
  
“One section for each of the four wind gods,” I guessed. “Four cardinal directions.”  
  
“I’m loving that pasture.” Coach Hedge licked his lips. “You guys mind-”  
  
“Go ahead,” I said. I was actually relieved to send the satyr off. It would be hard enough getting on Aeolus’s good side without Coach Hedge waving his club and screaming, “Die!”  
  
While the satyr ran off to attack springtime, Leo, Piper, Theo and I walked down the road to the steps of the palace. We passed through the front doors into a white marble foyer decorated with purple banners that read _olympian weather channel_ , and some that just read _ow!_  
  
“Hello!” A woman floated up to them. Literally floated. She was pretty in that elfish way I associated with nature spirits at Camp Half-Blood - petite, slightly pointy ears, and an ageless face that could’ve been sixteen or thirty. Her brown eyes twinkled cheerfully. Even though there was no wind, her dark hair blew in slow motion, shampoo-commercial style. Her white gown billowed around her like parachute material. I couldn’t tell if she had feet, but if so, they didn’t touch the floor. She had a white tablet computer in her hand. “Are you from Lord Zeus?” she asked. “We’ve been expecting you.”  
  
I tried to respond, but it was a little hard to think straight, because I’d realized the woman was see-through. Her shape faded in and out like she was made of fog.  
  
“Are you a ghost?” I asked.  
  
Right away I knew I’d insulted her. The smile turned into a pout. “I’m an aura, sir. A wind nymph, as you might expect, working for the lord of the winds. My name is Mellie. We don’t have ghosts.”  
  
Piper came to the rescue. “No, of course you don’t! My friend simply mistook you for Helen of Troy, the most beautiful mortal of all time. It’s an easy mistake.”  
  
Wow, she was good. The compliment seemed a little over the top, but Mellie the aura blushed. “Oh... well, then. So you are from Zeus?”  
  
“Er,” I said, “I’m the son of Zeus, yeah.”  
  
“Excellent! Please, right this way.” She led us through some security doors into another lobby, consulting her tablet as she floated. She didn’t look where she was going, but apparently it didn’t matter as she drifted straight through a marble column with no problem. “We’re out of prime time now, so that’s good,” she mused. “I can fit you in right before his 11:12 spot.”  
  
“Um, okay,” I said.  
  
The lobby was a pretty distracting place. Winds blasted around them, so I felt like I was pushing through an invisible crowd. Doors blew open and slammed by themselves.  
  
The things I could see were just as bizarre. Paper airplanes of all different sizes and shapes sped around, and other wind nymphs, aurai, would occasionally pluck them out of the air, unfold and read them, then toss them back into the air, where the planes would refold themselves and keep flying.  
  
An ugly creature fluttered past. She looked like a mix between an old lady and a chicken on steroids. She had a wrinkled face with black hair tied in a hairnet, arms like a human plus wings like a chicken, and a fat, feathered body with talons for feet. It was amazing she could fly at all. She kept drifting around and bumping into things like a parade balloon.  
  
“Not an aura?” I asked Mellie as the creature wobbled by.  
  
Mellie laughed. “That’s a harpy, of course. Our, ah, ugly stepsisters, I suppose you would say. Don’t you have harpies on Olympus? They’re spirits of violent gusts, unlike us aurai. We’re all gentle breezes.”  
  
She batted her eyes at me.  
  
“’Course you are,” I said.  
  
“So,” Piper prompted, “you were taking us to see Aeolus?”  
  
Mellie led us through a set of doors like an airlock. Above the interior door, a green light blinked.  
  
“We have a few minutes before he starts,” Mellie said cheerfully. “He probably won’t kill you if we go in now. Come along!”

My jaw dropped. The central section of Aeolus’s fortress was as big as a cathedral, with a soaring domed roof covered in silver. Television equipment floated randomly through the air - cameras, spotlights, set pieces, potted plants. And there was no floor. Leo almost fell into the chasm before I pulled him back.  
  
“Holy-!” Leo gulped. “Hey, Mellie. A little warning next time!”  
  
An enormous circular pit plunged into the heart of the mountain. It was probably half a mile deep, honeycombed with caves. Some of the tunnels probably led straight outside. I remembered seeing winds blast out of them when we’d been on Pikes Peak. Other caves were sealed with some glistening material like glass or wax. The whole cavern bustled with harpies, aurai, and paper airplanes, but for someone who couldn’t fly, it would be a very long, very fatal fall.  
  
“Oh, my,” Mellie gasped. “I’m so sorry.” She unclipped a walkie-talkie from somewhere inside her robes and spoke into it: “Hello, sets? Is that Nuggets? Hi, Nuggets. Could we get a floor in the main studio, please? Yes, a solid one. Thanks.”  
  
A few seconds later, an army of harpies rose from the pit - three dozen or so demon chicken ladies, all carrying squares of various building material. They went to work hammering and gluing - and using large quantities of duct tape, which didn’t reassure me. In no time there was a makeshift floor snaking out over the chasm. It was made of plywood, marble blocks, carpet squares, wedges of grass sod - just about anything.  
  
“That can’t be safe,” I said.  
  
“Oh, it is!” Mellie assured me. “The harpies are very good.”  
  
Easy for her to say. She just drifted across without touching the floor, but I decided I had the best chance at surviving, since I could fly, so I stepped out first. Amazingly, the floor held.  
  
Theo gripped my hand and followed him. “If I fall, you’re catching me.”  
  
“Uh, sure.” I hoped I wasn’t blushing.  
  
Leo stepped out next. “You’re catching me, too, Superman. But I ain’t holding your hand.” Piper went last, looking paler than usual.  
  
Mellie led us toward the middle of the chamber, where a loose sphere of flat-panel video screens floated around a kind of control center. A man hovered inside, checking monitors and reading paper airplane messages.  
  
The man paid us no attention as Mellie brought us forward. She pushed a forty-two-inch Sony out of our way and led them into the control area.  
  
Leo whistled. “I got to get a room like this.”  
  
The floating screens showed all sorts of television programs. Some I recognized - news broadcasts, mostly - but some programs looked a little strange: gladiators fighting, demigods battling monsters. Maybe they were movies, but they looked more like reality shows.  
  
At the far end of the sphere was a silky blue backdrop like a cinema screen, with cameras and studio lights floating around it.  
  
The man in the center was talking into an earpiece phone. He had a remote control in each hand and was pointing them at various screens, seemingly at random.  
  
He wore a business suit that looked like the sky - blue mostly, but dappled with clouds that changed and darkened and moved across the fabric. He looked like he was in his sixties, with a shock of white hair, but he had a ton of stage makeup on, and that smooth plastic-surgery look to his face, so he appeared not really young, not really old, just wrong - like a Ken doll someone had halfway melted in a microwave. His eyes darted back and forth from screen to screen, like he was trying to absorb everything at once. He muttered things into his phone, and his mouth kept twitching. He was either amused, or crazy, or both.  
  
Mellie floated toward him. “Ah, sir, Mr. Aeolus, these demigods-”  
  
“Hold it!” He held up a hand to silence her, then pointed at one of the screens. “Watch!”  
  
It was one of those storm-chaser programs, where insane thrill-seekers drive after tornados. As I watched, a Jeep plowed straight into a funnel cloud and got tossed into the sky.  
  
Aeolus shrieked with delight. “The Disaster Channel. People do that on purpose!” He turned toward me with a mad grin. “Isn’t that amazing? Let’s watch it again.”  
  
“Um, sir,” Mellie said, “this is Jason, son of—”  
  
“Yes, yes, I remember,” Aeolus said. “You’re back. How did it go?”  
  
I hesitated. “Sorry? I think you’ve mistaken me-”  
  
“No, no, Jason Grace, aren’t you? It was - what - last year? You were on your way to fight a sea monster, I believe.”  
  
“I - I don’t remember.”  
  
Aeolus laughed. “Must not have been a very good sea monster! No, I remember every hero who’s ever come to me for aid. Odysseus - gods, he docked at my island for a month! At least you only stayed a few days. Now, watch this video. These ducks get sucked straight into-”  
  
“Sir,” Mellie interrupted. “Two minutes to air.”  
  
“Air!” Aeolus exclaimed. “I love air. How do I look? Makeup!”  
  
Immediately a small tornado of brushes, blotters, and cotton balls descended on Aeolus. They blurred across his face in a cloud of flesh-tone smoke until his coloration was even more gruesome than before. Wind swirled through his hair and left it sticking up like a frosted Christmas tree.  
  
“Mr. Aeolus.” I slipped off the golden backpack. “We brought you these rogue storm spirits.”  
  
“Did you!” Aeolus looked at the bag like it was a gift from a fan - something he really didn’t want. “Well, how nice.”  
  
Leo nudged me, and I offered the bag. “Boreas sent us to capture them for you. We hope you’ll accept them and stop - you know - ordering demigods to be killed.”  
  
Aeolus laughed, and looked incredulously at Mellie. “Demigods be killed - did I order that?”  
  
Mellie checked her computer tablet. “Yes, sir, fifteenth of September. ‘Storm spirits released by the death of Typhon, demigods to be held responsible,’ etc... yes, a general order for them all to be killed.”

“Oh, pish,” Aeolus said. “I was just grumpy. Rescind that order, Mellie, and um, who’s on guard duty - Teriyaki? - Teri, take these storm spirits down to cell block Fourteen E, will you?”  
  
A harpy swooped out of nowhere, snatched the golden bag, and spiraled into the abyss.  
  
Aeolus grinned at me. “Now, sorry about that kill-on-sight business. But gods, I really was mad, wasn’t I?” His face suddenly darkened, and his suit did the same, the lapels flashing with lightning. “You know... I remember now. Almost seemed like a voice was telling me to give that order. A little cold tingle on the back of my neck.”  
  
I tensed. A cold tingle on the back of his neck... Why did that sound so familiar? “A... um, voice in your head, sir?”  
  
“Yes. How odd. Mellie, should we kill them?”  
  
“No, sir,” she said patiently. “They just brought us the storm spirits, which makes everything all right.”  
  
“Of course.” Aeolus laughed. “Sorry. Mellie, let’s send the demigods something nice. A box of chocolates, perhaps.”  
  
“A box of chocolates to every demigod in the world, sir?”  
  
“No, too expensive. Never mind. Wait, it’s time! I’m on!”  
  
Aeolus flew off toward the blue screen as newscast music started to play.  
  
I looked at Piper and Leo, who seemed just as confused as I was. Theo, on the other hand, just looked... pitiful?  
  
“Mellie,” I said, “is he... always like that?”  
  
She smiled sheepishly. “Well, you know what they say. If you don’t like his mood, wait five minutes. That expression ‘whichever way the wind blows’ - that was based on him.”  
  
“And that thing about the sea monster,” I said. “Was I here before?”  
  
Mellie blushed. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember. I’m Mr. Aeolus’s new assistant. I’ve been with him longer than most, but still - not that long.”  
  
“How long do his assistants usually last?” Piper asked.  
  
"Oh...” Mellie thought for a moment. “I’ve been doing this for... twelve hours?”  
  
A voice blared from floating speakers: “And now, weather every twelve minutes! Here’s your forecaster for Olympian Weather - the OW! channel - Aeolus!”  
  
Lights blazed on Aeolus, who was now standing in front of the blue screen. His smile was unnaturally white, and he looked like he’d had so much caffeine his face was about to explode.  
  
“Hello, Olympus! Aeolus, master of the winds here, with weather every twelve! We’ll have a low-pressure system moving over Florida today, so expect milder temperatures since Demeter wishes to spare the citrus farmers!” He gestured at the blue screen, but when I checked the monitors, I saw that a digital image was being projected behind Aeolus, so it looked like he was standing in front of a U.S. map with animated smiley suns and frowny storm clouds. “Along the eastern seaboard - oh, hold on.” He tapped his earpiece. “Sorry, folks! Poseidon is angry with Miami today, so it looks like that Florida freeze is back on! Sorry, Demeter. Over in the Midwest, I’m not sure what St. Louis did to offend Zeus, but you can expect winter storms! Boreas himself is being called down to punish the area with ice. Bad news, Missouri! No, wait. Hephaestus feels sorry for central Missouri, so you all will have much more moderate temperatures and sunny skies.”  
  
Aeolus kept going like that - forecasting each area of the country and changing his prediction two or three times as he got messages over his earpiece - the gods apparently putting in orders for various winds and weather.  
  
“This can’t be right,” I whispered. “Weather isn’t this random.”  
  
Mellie smirked. “And how often are the mortal weathermen right? They talk about fronts and air pressure and moisture, but the weather surprises them all the time. At least Aeolus tells us why it’s so unpredictable. Very hard job, trying to appease all the gods at once. It’s enough to drive anyone...”  
  
She trailed off, looking at Theo, and I knew what she meant. Mad. Aeolus was completely mad.  
  
“And that’s the weather,” Aeolus concluded. “See you in twelve minutes, because I’m sure it’ll change!”  
  
The lights shut off, the video monitors went back to random coverage, and just for a moment, Aeolus’s face sagged with weariness. Then he seemed to remember he had guests, and he put a smile back on.  
  
“So, you brought me some rogue storm spirits,” Aeolus said. “I suppose... thanks! And did you want something else? I assume so. Demigods always do.”  
  
Mellie said, “Um, sir, this is Zeus’s son.”  
  
“Yes, yes. I know that. I said I remembered him from before.”  
  
“But, sir, they’re here from Olympus.”  
  
Aeolus looked stunned. Then he laughed so abruptly, I almost jumped into the chasm. “You mean you’re here on behalf of your father this time? Finally! I knew they would send someone to renegotiate my contract!”  
  
“Um, what?” I asked.  
  
“Oh, thank goodness!” Aeolus sighed with relief. “It’s been what, three thousand years since Zeus made me master of the winds. Not that I’m ungrateful, of course! But really, my contract is so vague. Obviously I’m immortal, but ‘master of the winds.’ What does that mean? Am I a nature spirit? A demigod? A god? I want to be god of the winds, because the benefits are so much better. Can we start with that?”  
  
I looked at my friends, mystified.  
  
“Dude,” Leo said, “you think we’re here to promote you?”  
  
“You are, then?” Aeolus grinned. His business suit turned completely blue - not a cloud in the fabric. “Marvelous! I mean, I think I’ve shown quite a bit of initiative with the weather channel, eh? And of course I’m in the press all the time. So many books have been written about me: Into Thin Air, Up in the Air, Gone with the Wind-”  
  
“Er, I don’t think those are about you,” I said, before I noticed Mellie shaking her head.  
  
“Nonsense,” Aeolus said. “Mellie, they’re biographies of me, aren’t they?”  
  
“Absolutely, sir,” she squeaked.  
  
“There, you see? I don’t read. Who has time? But obviously the mortals love me. So, we’ll change my official title to god of the winds. Then, about salary and staff-”  
  
“Sir,” I interrupted, “we’re not from Olympus.”  
  
Aeolus blinked. “But-”  
  
“I’m the son of Zeus, yes,” I said, “but we’re not here to negotiate your contract. We’re on a quest and we need your help.”  
  
Aeolus’s expression hardened. “Like last time? Like every hero who comes here? Demigods! It’s always about you, isn’t it?”  
  
“Sir, please, I don’t remember last time, but if you helped me once before-”  
  
“I’m always helping! Well, sometimes I’m destroying, but mostly I’m helping, and sometimes I’m asked to do both at the same time! Why, Aeneas, the first of your kind-”  
  
“My kind?” Jason asked. “You mean, demigods?”  
  
“Oh, please!” Aeolus said. “I mean your line of demigods. You know, Aeneas, son of Venus - the only surviving hero of Troy. When the Greeks burned down his city, he escaped to Italy, where he founded the kingdom that would eventually become Rome, blah, blah, blah. That’s what I meant.”  
  
“I don’t get it,” I admitted.  
  
Aeolus rolled his eyes. “The point being, I was thrown in the middle of that conflict, too! Juno calls up: ‘Oh, Aeolus, destroy Aeneas’s ships for me. I don’t like him.’ Then Neptune says, ‘No, you don’t! That’s my territory. Calm the winds.’ Then Juno is like, ‘No, wreck his ships, or I’ll tell Jupiter you’re uncooperative!’ Do you think it’s easy juggling requests like that?”  
  
“No,” I said. “I guess not.”  
  
“And don’t get me started on Amelia Earhart! I’m still getting angry calls from Olympus about knocking her out of the sky!”  
  
“We just want information,” Piper said in her most calming voice. “We hear you know everything.”  
  
Aeolus straightened his lapels and looked slightly mollified. “Well... that’s true, of course. For instance, I know that this business here” - he waggled his fingers at the four of us - “this harebrained scheme of Juno’s to bring you all together is likely to end in bloodshed. As for you, Piper McLean, I know your father is in serious trouble.” He held out his hand, and a scrap of paper fluttered into his grasp. It was a photo of Piper with a guy who must’ve been her dad. His face did look familiar. I was pretty sure I’d seen him in some movies.  
  
Piper took the photo. Her hands were shaking. “This - this is from his wallet.”  
  
“Yes,” Aeolus said. “All things lost in the wind eventually come to me. The photo blew away when the Earthborn captured him.”  
  
“The what?” Piper asked.  
  
Aeolus waved aside the question and narrowed his eyes at Theo. "Theodora May Castellan. You know, your aunt is still waiting. You must feel such guilt about your cousin, don't you?" He caught another paper out of the air - it seemed to a page torn out of a notebook. Theo let out a mangled sound - something in between a gasp and a sob - and took the paper with trembling hands. She was quick to put it in her pocket.

“Now, you, son of Hephaestus... yes, I see your future.” Another paper fell into the wind god’s hands - an old tattered drawing done in crayons.  
  
Leo took it as if it might be coated in poison. He staggered backward.  
  
“Leo?” I said. “What is it?”  
  
“Something I-I drew when I was a kid.” He folded it quickly and put it in his coat. “It’s... yeah, it’s nothing.”  
  
Aeolus laughed. “Really? Just the key to your success! Now, where were we? Ah, yes, you wanted information. Are you sure about that? Sometimes information can be dangerous.”  
  
He smiled at me like he was issuing a challenge. Behind him, Mellie shook her head in warning.  
  
“Yeah,” I said. “We need to find the lair of Enceladus.”  
  
Aeolus’s smile melted. “The giant? Why would you want to go there? He’s horrible! He doesn’t even watch my program!”  
  
Piper held up the photo. “Aeolus, he’s got my father. We need to rescue him and find out where Hera is being held captive.”  
  
“Now, that’s impossible,” Aeolus said. “Even I can’t see that, and believe me, I’ve tried. There’s a veil of magic over Hera’s location - very strong, impossible to locate.”  
  
“She’s at a place called the Wolf House,” Jason said.  
  
“Hold on!” Aeolus put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. “I’m getting something! Yes, she’s at a place called the Wolf House! Sadly, I don’t know where that is.”  
  
“Enceladus does,” Piper persisted. “If you help us find him, we could get the location of the goddess-”  
  
“Yeah,” Leo said, catching on. “And if we save her, she’d be really grateful to you-”  
  
“And Zeus might promote you,” I finished.  
  
Aeolus’s eyebrows crept up. “A promotion - and all you want from me is the giant’s location?”

“Well, if you could get us there, too,” I amended, “that would be great.”  
  
Mellie clapped her hands in excitement. “Oh, he could do that! He often sends helpful winds-”  
  
“Mellie, quiet!” Aeolus snapped. “I have half a mind to fire you for letting these people in under false pretenses.”  
  
Her face paled. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”  
  
“It wasn’t her fault,” I said. “But about that help...”  
  
Aeolus tilted his head as if thinking. Then I realized the wind lord was listening to voices in his earpiece.  
  
“Well... Zeus approves,” Aeolus muttered. “He says... he says it would be better if you could avoid saving her until after the weekend, because he has a big party planned - Ow! That’s Aphrodite yelling at him, reminding him that the solstice starts at dawn. She says I should help you. And Hephaestus... yes. Hmm. Very rare they agree on anything. Hold on...”  
  
I smiled at my friends. Finally, we were having some good luck. Our godly parents were standing up for us.  
  
Back toward the entrance, I heard a loud belch. Coach Hedge waddled in from the lobby, grass all over his face. Mellie saw him coming across the makeshift floor and caught her breath. “Who is that?”  
  
I stifled a cough. “That? That’s just Coach Hedge. Uh, Gleeson Hedge. He’s our...” Jason wasn’t sure what to call him: teacher, friend, problem?  
  
“Our guide.”  
  
“He’s so goatly,” Mellie murmured.  
  
Behind her, Piper poofed out her cheeks, pretending to vomit.  
  
“What’s up, guys?” Hedge trotted over. “Wow, nice place. Oh! Sod squares.”  
  
“Coach, you just ate,” I said. “And we’re using the sod as a floor. This is, ah, Mellie-”  
  
“An aura.” Hedge smiled winningly. “Beautiful as a summer breeze.”  
  
Mellie blushed.  
  
“And Aeolus here was just about to help us,” I said.  
  
“Yes,” the wind lord muttered. “It seems so. You’ll find Enceladus on Mount Diablo.”  
  
“Devil Mountain?” Leo asked. “That doesn’t sound good.”  
  
“I remember that place!” Piper said. “I went there once with my dad. It’s just east of San Francisco Bay.”  
  
“The Bay Area again?” The coach shook his head. “Not good. Not good at all.”  
  
“Now...” Aeolus began to smile. “As to getting you there—”  
  
Suddenly his face went slack. He bent over and tapped his earpiece as if it were malfunctioning. When he straightened again, his eyes were wild. Despite the makeup, he looked like an old man - an old, very frightened man. “She hasn’t spoke to me for centuries. I can’t-yes, yes I understand.”  
  
He swallowed, regarding Jason as if he had suddenly turned into a giant cockroach. “I’m sorry, son of Jupiter. New orders. You all have to die.”


	23. Chapter 23

**PIPER**

Mellie squeaked. “But - but, sir! Zeus said to help them. Aphrodite, Hephaestus-”  
  
“Mellie!” Aeolus snapped. “Your job is already on the line. Besides, there are some orders that transcend even the wishes of the gods, especially when it comes to the forces of nature.”  
  
“Whose orders?” Jason said. “Zeus will fire you if you don’t help us!”  
  
“I doubt it.” Aeolus flicked his wrist, and far below them, a cell door opened in the pit. I could hear the wind howling fiercely.  
  
“Even Zeus understands the order of things,” Aeolus said. “And if she is waking - by all the gods - she cannot be denied. Good-bye, heroes. I’m terribly sorry, but I’ll have to make this quick. I’m back on the air in four minutes.”  
  
Jason summoned his sword. Coach Hedge pulled out his club. Mellie the aura yelled, “No!”  
  
She dived at our feet just as the storm spirits hit with hurricane force, blasting the floor to pieces, shredding the carpet samples and marble and linoleum into what should’ve been lethal projectiles, had Mellie’s robes not spread out like a shield and absorbed the brunt of the impact. The six of us fell into the pit, and Aeolus screamed above us, “Mellie, you are so fired!”  
  
“Quick,” Mellie yelled. “Son of Zeus, do you have any power over the air?”  
  
“A little!”  
  
“Then help me, or you’re all dead!” Mellie grabbed his hand.  
  
Jason grabbed Theo's hand, and she took mine. “Group hug!”  
  
The four of us tried to huddle together, hanging on to Jason and Mellie as we fell.  
  
“This is NOT GOOD!” Leo yelled.  
  
“Bring it on, gas bags!” Hedge yelled up at the storm spirits. “I’ll pulverize you!”  
  
“He’s magnificent,” Mellie sighed.  
  
“Concentrate?” Jason prompted.  
  
“Right!” she said.  
  
They channeled the wind so their fall became more of a tumble into the nearest open chute. Still, we slammed into the tunnel at painful speed and went rolling over each other down a steep vent that was not designed for people. There was no way we could stop.  
  
Mellie’s robes billowed around her. Jason and the rest of us clung to her desperately, and we began to slow down, but the storm spirits were screaming into the tunnel behind them.  
  
“Can’t-hold-long,” Mellie warned. “Stay together! When the winds hit-”  
  
“You’re doing great, Mellie,” Hedge said. “My own mama was an aura, you know. She couldn’t have done better herself.”  
  
“Iris-message me?” Mellie pleaded.  
  
Hedge winked.  
  
“Could you guys plan your date later?” I screamed. “Look!”  
  
Behind them, the tunnel was turning dark. I could feel my ears pop as the pressure built.  
  
“Can’t hold them,” Mellie warned. “But I’ll try to shield you, do you one more favor.”  
  
“Thanks, Mellie,” Jason said. “I hope you get a new job.”  
  
She smiled, and then dissolved, wrapping us in a warm gentle breeze. Then the real winds hit, shooting us into the sky so fast, I blacked out.

* * * * *

I found myself back in Medea’s department store.  
  
“Please let this be a dream,” I murmured, “and not my eternal punishment.”  
  
“No, dear,” said a woman’s honey-sweet voice. “No punishment.”  
  
I turned, afraid I’d see Medea, but a different woman stood next to me, browsing through the fifty-percent-off rack.  
  
The woman was gorgeous - shoulder-length hair, a graceful neck, perfect features, and an amazing figure tucked into jeans and a snowy white top.  
  
I had seen my share of actresses - most of my dad’s dates were knockout beautiful - but this lady was different. She was elegant without trying, fashionable without effort, stunning without makeup. After seeing Aeolus with his silly face-lifts and cosmetics, I thought this woman looked even more astonishing. There was nothing artificial about her.  
  
Yet as I watched, the woman’s appearance changed. I couldn’t decide the color of her eyes, or the exact color of her hair. The woman became more and more beautiful, as if her image were aligning itself to my thoughts - getting as close as possible to my ideal of beauty.  
  
“Aphrodite,” I said. “Mom?”  
  
The goddess smiled. “You’re only dreaming, my sweet. If anyone wonders, I wasn’t here. Okay?”  
  
“I-” I wanted to ask a thousand questions, but they all crowded together in my head.  
  
Aphrodite held up a turquoise dress. I thought it looked awesome, but the goddess made a face. “This isn’t my color, is it? Pity, it’s cute. Medea really does have some lovely things here.” As she spoke, her form was taking shape more and more - I could start to make out a dark hair colour, and her eyes were becoming very light.  
  
“This-this building exploded,” I stammered. “I saw it.”  
  
“Yes,” Aphrodite agreed. “I suppose that’s why everything’s on sale. Just a memory, now."

Her hair settled into spiky black hair and her piercing blue eyes twinkled as she smiled. “Because you are my daughter, Piper, you see possibilities much more vividly than others. You see what could be. And I see you and your story, including your love story, could be great. Unfortunately-” The goddess gestured around the department store. “You have other trials to face, first. Medea will be back, along with many other enemies. The Doors of Death have opened.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
Aphrodite winked at me. “You’re a smart one, Piper. You know.”  
  
A cold feeling settled over me. “The sleeping woman, the one Medea and Midas called their patron. She’s managed to open a new entrance from the Underworld. She’s letting the dead escape back into the world.”

“Mmm. And not just any dead. The worst, the most powerful, the ones most likely to hate the gods.”  
  
“The monsters are coming back from Tartarus the same way,” Piper guessed. “That’s why they don’t stay disintegrated.”  
  
“Yes. Their patron, as you call her, has a special relationship with Tartarus, the spirit of the pit. Your friend Theodora has a hunch, and she's correct, but she's scared that saying it aloud will make it true.” Aphrodite held up a gold sequined top. “No... this would make me look ridiculous.”  
  
Piper laughed uneasily. “You? You can’t look anything but perfect.”  
  
“You’re sweet,” Aphrodite said. “But beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit. To be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself - avoid trying to be something you’re not. For a goddess, that’s especially hard. We can change so easily.”  
  
“My dad thought you were perfect.” Piper’s voice quavered. “He never got over you.”  
  
Aphrodite’s gaze became distant. “Yes... Tristan. Oh, he was amazing. So gentle and kind, funny and handsome. Yet he had so much sadness inside.”  
  
“Could we please not talk about him in the past tense?”  
  
“I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t want to leave your father, of course. It’s always so hard, but it was for the best. If he had realized who I actually was-”  
  
“Wait - he didn’t know you were a goddess?”  
  
“Of course not.” Aphrodite sounded offended. “I wouldn’t do that to him. For most mortals, that’s simply too hard to accept. It can ruin their lives! Ask your friend Jason - lovely boy, by the way. I've got great plans for him. Anyway, his poor mother... she was destroyed when she found out she’d fallen in love with Zeus. No, it was much better Tristan believed that I was a mortal woman who left him without explanation. Better a bittersweet memory than an immortal, unattainable goddess. Which brings me to an important matter...”  
  
She opened her hand and showed me a glowing glass vial of pink liquid. “This is one of Medea’s kinder mixtures. It erases only recent memories. When you save your father, if you can save him, you should give him this.”  
  
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You want me to dope my dad? You want me to make him forget what he’s been through?”  
  
Aphrodite held up the vial. The liquid cast a pink glow over her face. “Your father acts confident, Piper, but he walks a fine line between two worlds. He’s worked his whole life to deny the old stories about gods and spirits, yet he fears those stories might be real. He fears that he’s shut off an important part of himself, and someday it will destroy him. Now he’s been captured by a giant. He’s living a nightmare. Even if he survives... if he has to spend the rest of his life with those memories, knowing that gods and spirits walk the earth, it will shatter him. That’s what our enemy hopes for. She will break him, and thus break your spirit.”  
  
I wanted to shout that Aphrodite was wrong. My dad was the strongest person I knew. I would never take his memories the way Hera had taken Jason’s.  
  
But somehow I couldn’t stay angry with Aphrodite. I remembered what my dad had said months ago, at the beach at Big Surf: _If I really believed in Ghost Country, or animal spirits, or Greek gods... I don’t think I could sleep at night. I’d always be looking for somebody to blame._  
  
Now I wanted someone to blame, too.  
  
“Who is she?” I demanded. “The one controlling the giants?”  
  
Aphrodite pursed her lips. She moved to the next rack, which held battered armor and ripped togas, but Aphrodite looked through them as if they were designer outfits.  
  
“You have a strong will,” she mused. “I’m never given much credit among the gods. My children are laughed at. They’re dismissed as conceited and shallow.”  
  
“Some of them are.”  
  
Aphrodite laughed. “Granted. Perhaps I’m conceited and shallow, too, sometimes. A girl has to indulge. Oh, this is nice.” She picked up a burned and stained bronze breastplate and held it up for me to see. “No?”  
  
“No,” I said. “Are you going to answer my question?”  
  
“Patience, my sweet,” the goddess said. “My point is that love is the most powerful motivator in the world. It spurs mortals to greatness. Their noblest, bravest acts are done for love.”  
  
Piper pulled out her dagger and studied its reflective blade. “Like Helen starting the Trojan War?”  
  
“Ah, Katoptris.” Aphrodite smiled. “I’m glad you found it. I get so much flack for that war, but honestly, Paris and Helen were a cute couple. And the heroes of that war are immortal now - at least in the memories of men. Love is powerful, Piper. It can bring even the gods to their knees. I told this to my son Aeneas when he escaped from Troy. He thought he had failed. He thought he was a loser! But he traveled to Italy-”  
  
“And became the forebear of Rome.”  
  
“Exactly. You see, Piper, my children can be quite powerful. You can be quite powerful, because my lineage is unique. I am closer to the beginning of creation than any other Olympian.”  
  
I struggled to remember about Aphrodite’s birth. “Didn’t you … rise from the sea? Standing on a seashell?”  
  
The goddess laughed. “That painter Botticelli had quite an imagination. I never stood on a seashell, thank you very much. But yes, I rose from the sea. The first beings to rise from Chaos were the Earth and Sky - Gaea and Ouranos. When their son the Titan Kronos killed Ouranos-”  
  
“By chopping him to pieces with a scythe,” I remembered.  
  
Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. “Yes. The pieces of Ouranos fell into the sea. His immortal essence created sea foam. And from that foam-”  
  
“You were born. I remember now. So you’re-”  
  
“The last child of Ouranos, who was greater than the gods or the Titans. So, in a strange way, I’m the eldest Olympian god. As I said, love is a powerful force. And you, my daughter, are much more than a pretty face. Which is why you already know who is waking the giants, and who has the power to open doors into the deepest parts of the earth.”  
  
Aphrodite waited, as if she could sense Piper slowly putting together the pieces of a puzzle, which made a dreadful picture.  
  
“Gaea,” I said. “The earth itself. That’s our enemy.”  
  
I hoped Aphrodite would say no, but the goddess kept her eyes on the rack of tattered armor. “She has slumbered for eons, but she is slowly waking. Even asleep, she is powerful, but once she wakes... we will be doomed. You must defeat the giants before that happens, and lull Gaea back into her slumber. Otherwise the rebellion has only begun. The dead will continue to rise. Monsters will regenerate with even greater speed. The giants will lay waste to the birthplace of the gods. And if they do that, all civilization will burn.”  
  
“But Gaea? Mother Earth?”  
  
“Do not underestimate her,” Aphrodite warned. “She is a cruel deity. She orchestrated Ouranos’s death. She gave Kronos the sickle and urged him to kill his own father. While the Titans ruled the world, she slumbered in peace. But when the gods overthrew them, Gaea woke again in all her anger and gave birth to a new race - the giants - to destroy Olympus once and for all.”  
  
“And it’s happening again,” I said. “The rise of the giants.”  
  
Aphrodite nodded. “Now you know. What will you do?”  
  
“Me?” I clenched my fists. “What am I supposed to do? Put on a pretty dress and sweet-talk Gaea into going back to sleep?”  
  
“I wish that would work,” Aphrodite said. “But no, you will have to find your own strengths, and fight for what you love. Like my favored ones, Helen and Paris. Like my son Aeneas.”  
  
“Helen and Paris died,” I said.  
  
“And Aeneas became a hero,” the goddess countered. “The first great hero of Rome. The result will depend on you, Piper, but I will tell you this: The seven greatest demigods must be gathered to defeat the giants, and that effort will not succeed without you. When the two sides meet... you will be the mediator. You will determine whether there is friendship or bloodshed.”  
  
“What two sides?”  
  
my vision began to dim.  
  
“You must wake soon, my child,” said the goddess. “I do not always agree with Hera, but she’s taken a bold risk, and I agree it must be done. Zeus has kept the two sides apart for too long. Only together will you have the power to save Olympus. Now, wake, and I hope you like the clothes I picked out.”  
  
“What clothes?” I demanded, but the dream faded to black.

I woke at a table at a sidewalk café.  
  
For a second, I thought I was still dreaming. It was a sunny morning. The air was brisk but not unpleasant for sitting outside. At the other tables, a mix of bicyclists, business people, and college kids sat chatting and drinking coffee.  
  
I could smell eucalyptus trees. Lots of foot traffic passed in front of quaint little shops. The street was lined with bottle-brush trees and blooming azaleas as if winter was a foreign concept.  
  
In other words: I was in California.  
  
My friends sat in chairs around me - all of them with their hands calmly folded across their chests, dozing pleasantly. And they all had new clothes on. I looked down at my own outfit and gasped. “Mother!”  
  
I yelled louder than I meant. Jason flinched, bumping the table with his knees, and then all of them were awake.  
  
“What?” Hedge demanded. “Fight who? Where?”  
  
“Falling!” Leo grabbed the table. “No-not falling. Where are we?”  
  
Jason blinked, trying to get his bearings. He focused on Piper and made a little choking sound. “What are you wearing?”  
  
I groaned. I was wearing the turquoise dress I’d seen in my dream, with black leggings and black leather boots. I had on my favorite silver charm bracelet, even though I’d left that back home in L.A., and my old snowboarding jacket from my dad, which amazingly went with the outfit pretty well. I pulled out Katoptris, and judging from the reflection in the blade, I’d gotten my hair done, too.  
  
“It’s nothing,” I said. “It’s my-” I remembered Aphrodite’s warning not to mention that we’d talked. “It’s nothing.”  
  
Leo grinned. “Aphrodite strikes again, huh? You’re gonna be the best-dressed warrior in town, beauty queen.”  
  
“Hey, Leo.” Dor nudged his arm. “You look at yourself recently?”  
  
“What... oh.”  
  
All of them had been give a makeover. Leo was wearing pinstriped pants, black leather shoes, a white collarless shirt with suspenders, and his tool belt, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and a porkpie hat.  
  
“God, Leo.” I tried not to laugh. “I think my dad wore that to his last premiere, minus the tool belt.”  
  
“Hey, shut up!”  
  
“I think he looks good,” said Coach Hedge. “’Course, I look better.”  
  
The satyr was a pastel nightmare. Aphrodite had given him a baggy canary yellow zoot suit with two-tone shoes that fit over his hooves. He had a matching yellow broad-brimmed hat, a rose-colored shirt, a baby blue tie, and a blue carnation in his lapel, which Hedge sniffed and then ate.

“Well,” Jason said, “at least your mom mostly overlooked us.”  
  
I knew that wasn’t exactly true. He was dressed simply in black jeans and a clean purple T-shirt, one like he’d worn at the Grand Canyon. He had new track shoes on, and his hair was newly trimmed. Dor had on a black tank top, ripped black cutoff shorts, and purple tights with lots of holes and rips in them. She was accessorized with chunky black combat boots and elbow-length black knit fingerless gloves. The dark purple of her tights matched Jason's shirt. Aphrodite’s message was clear: _These two make a pair_.  
  
And I agreed.  
  
“Anyway,” I said uncomfortably, “how did we get here?”  
  
“Oh, that would be Mellie,” Hedge said, chewing happily on his carnation. “Those winds shot us halfway across the country, I’d guess. We would’ve been smashed flat on impact, but Mellie’s last gift - a nice soft breeze - cushioned our fall.”  
  
“And she got fired for us,” Leo said. “Man, we suck.”  
  
“Ah, she’ll be fine,” Hedge said. “Besides, she couldn’t help herself. I’ve got that effect on nymphs. I’ll send her a message when we’re through with this quest and help her figure something out. That is one aura I could settle down with and raise a herd of baby goats.”  
  
“I’m going to be sick,” I said. “Anyone else want coffee?”  
  
“Coffee!” Hedge’s grin was stained blue from the flower. “I love coffee!”  
  
“Um,” Jason said, “but - money? Our packs?”  
  
I looked down. Our packs were at their feet, and everything seemed to still be there. I reached into my coat pocket and felt two things I hadn’t expected. One was a wad of cash. The other was a glass vial - the amnesia potion. I left the vial in my pocket and brought out the money.  
  
Leo whistled. “Allowance? Piper, your mom rocks!”  
  
“Waitress!” Hedge called. “Six double espressos, and whatever these guys want. Put it on the girl’s tab.”  
  
It didn’t take us long to figure out where we were. The menus said “Café Verve, Walnut Creek, CA.” And according to the waitress, it was 9 a.m. on December 21, the winter solstice, which gave us three hours until Enceladus’s deadline.  
  
We didn’t have to wonder where Mount Diablo was, either. We could see it on the horizon, right at the end of the street. After the Rockies, Mount Diablo didn’t look very large, nor was it covered in snow. It seemed downright peaceful, its golden creases marbled with gray-green trees. But size was deceptive with mountains, I knew. It was probably much bigger up close. And appearances were deceptive too. Here they were - back in California - supposedly her home - with sunny skies, mild weather, laid-back people, and a plate of chocolate chip scones with coffee. And only a few miles away, somewhere on that peaceful mountain, a super-powerful, super-evil giant was about to have her father for lunch.  
  
Leo pulled something out of his pocket - the old crayon drawing Aeolus had given him. Aphrodite must’ve thought it was important if she’d magically transferred it to his new outfit.  
  
“What is that?” I asked.  
  
Leo folded it up gingerly again and put it away. “Nothing. You don’t want to see my kindergarten artwork.”  
  
“It’s more than that,” Dor guessed. “Aeolus said it was the key to our success.”  
  
Leo shook his head. “Not today. He was talking about... later.”  
  
“How can you be sure?” Piper asked.  
  
“Trust me,” Leo said. “Now - what’s our game plan?”  
  
Coach Hedge belched. He’d already had three espressos and a plate of doughnuts, along with two napkins and another flower from the vase on the table. He would’ve eaten the silverware, except I had slapped his hand.  
  
“Climb the mountain,” Hedge said. “Kill everything except Piper’s dad. Leave.”  
  
“Thank you, General Eisenhower,” Jason grumbled.  
  
“Hey, I’m just saying!”  
  
“Guys,” Piper said. “There’s more you need to know.”  
  
It was tricky, because I couldn’t mention my mom; but I told them I’d figured some things out in my dreams. I told them about our real enemy: Gaea.

"Styx," Dor swore under her breath. I knew her worst suspicion had now been confirmed, and she didn't seem to be handling it well. Her hands had been shaking since receiving the piece of paper from Aeolus, but as I talked it had gotten to the point where her coffee was threatening to spill out of her half-empty cup, so she set it down and folded her hands on her lap. Jason put one hand on top of them, and I almost smiled.

“Gaea?” Leo shook his head. “Isn’t that Mother Nature? She’s supposed to have, like, flowers in her hair and birds singing around her and deer and rabbits doing her laundry.”  
  
“Leo, that’s Snow White,” I said.  
  
“Okay, but-”  
  
“Listen, cupcake.” Coach Hedge dabbed the espresso out of his goatee. “Piper’s telling us some serious stuff, here. Gaea’s no softie. I’m not even sure I could take her.”  
  
Leo whistled. “Really?”  
  
Hedge nodded. “This earth lady - she and her old man the sky were nasty customers.”  
  
“Ouranos,” Dor said, her voice soft - even more so than usual. I couldn’t help looking up at the blue sky, wondering if it had eyes.  
  
“Right,” Hedge said. “So Ouranos, he’s not the best dad. He throws their first kids, the Cyclopes, into Tartarus. That makes Gaea mad, but she bides her time. Then they have another set of kids - the twelve Titans - and Gaea is afraid they’ll get thrown into prison too. So she goes up to her son Kronos-”  
  
“The big bad dude,” Leo said. “The one they defeated last summer.” Dor flinched, but Hedge payed no attention to her.  
  
“Right. And Gaea’s the one who gives him the scythe, and tells him, ‘Hey, why don’t I call your dad down here? And while he’s talking to me, distracted, you can cut him to pieces. Then you can take over the world. Wouldn’t that be great?’”  
  
Nobody said anything. My chocolate chip scone didn’t look so appetizing anymore. Even though I’d heard the story before, I still couldn’t quite get my mind around it. I tried to imagine a kid so messed up, he would kill his own dad just for power. Then I imagined a mom so messed up, she would convince her son to do it.  
  
“Definitely not Snow White,” I decided.  
  
“Nah, Kronos was a bad guy,” Hedge said. “But Gaea is literally the mother of all bad guys. She’s so old and powerful, so huge, that it’s hard for her to be fully conscious. Most of the time, she sleeps, and that’s the way we like her - snoring.”

“But she talked to me,” Leo said. “How can she be asleep?”

Gleeson brushed crumbs off his canary yellow lapel. He was on his sixth espresso now, and his pupils were as big as quarters. “Even in her sleep, part of her consciousness is active - dreaming, keeping watch, doing little things like causing volcanoes to explode and monsters to rise. Even now, she’s not fully awake. Believe me, you don’t want to see her fully awake.”  
  
“But she’s getting more powerful,” I said. “She’s causing the giants to rise. And if their king comes back - this guy Porphyrion -”  
  
“He’ll raise an army to destroy the gods,” Jason put in. “Starting with Hera. It’ll be another war. And Gaea will wake up fully.”  
  
Gleeson nodded. “Which is why it’s a good idea for us to stay off the ground as much as possible.”  
  
Leo looked warily at Mount Diablo. “So... climbing a mountain. That would be bad.”  
  
My heart sank. First, I’d been asked to betray my friends. Now they were trying to help me rescue her dad even though they knew they were walking into a trap. The idea of fighting a giant had been scary enough. But the idea that Gaea was behind it - a force more powerful than a god or Titan...  
  
“Guys, I can’t ask you to do this,” I said. “This is too dangerous.”  
  
“You kidding?” Gleeson belched and showed them his blue carnation smile. “Who’s ready to beat stuff up?”


	24. Chapter 24

**LEO**

I'd hoped the taxi could take us all the way to the top.  
  
No such luck. The cab made lurching, grinding sounds as it climbed the mountain road, and halfway up we found the ranger’s station closed, a chain blocking the way.  
  
“Far as I can go,” the cabbie said. “You sure about this? Gonna be a long walk back, and my car’s acting funny. I can’t wait for you.”  
  
“We’re sure.” I was the first one out. I had a bad feeling about what was wrong with the cab, and when I looked down I saw I was right. The wheels were sinking into the road like it was made of quicksand. Not fast - just enough to make the driver think he had a transmission problem or a bad axle - but I knew different.  
  
The road was hard-packed dirt. No reason at all it should have been soft, but already my shoes were starting to sink. Gaea was messing with us.  
  
While my friends got out, I paid the cabbie. I was generous - heck, why not? It was Aphrodite’s money. Plus, I had a feeling I might never be coming off this mountain.  
  
“Keep the change,” I said. “And get out of here. Quick.”  
  
The driver didn’t argue. Soon all we could see was his dust trail.  
  
The view from the mountain was pretty amazing. The whole inland valley around Mount Diablo was a patchwork of towns - grids of tree-lined streets and nice middle-class suburbs, shops, and schools. All these normal people living normal lives - the kind I had never known.  
  
“That’s Concord,” Jason said, pointing to the north. “Walnut Creek below us. To the south, Danville, past those hills. And that way...”  
  
He pointed west, where a ridge of golden hills held back a layer of fog, like the rim of a bowl. “That’s the Berkeley Hills. The East Bay. Past that, San Francisco.”  
  
“Jason?” Dor touched his arm. “You remember something? You’ve been here?”  
  
“Yes... no.” He gave her an anguished look. “It just seems important.”  
  
“That’s Titan land.” Coach Hedge nodded toward the west. “Bad place, Jason. Trust me, this is as close to ’Frisco as we want to get.”  
  
But Jason looked toward the foggy basin with such longing that I felt uneasy. Why did Jason seem so connected with that place - a place Hedge said was evil, full of bad magic and old enemies? What if Jason came from here? Everybody kept hinting Jason was an enemy, that his arrival at Camp Half-Blood was a dangerous mistake.  
  
No, I thought. Ridiculous. Jason was our friend.  
  
I tried to move my foot, but my heels were now completely embedded in the dirt.  
  
“Hey, guys,” I said. “Let’s keep moving.”  
  
The others noticed the problem.  
  
“Gaea is stronger here,” Hedge grumbled. He popped his hooves free from his shoes, then handed the shoes to me. “Keep those for me, Valdez. They’re nice.”  
  
I snorted. “Yes, sir, Coach. Would you like them polished?”  
  
“That’s varsity thinking, Valdez.” Hedge nodded approvingly. “But first, we’d better hike up this mountain while we still can.”  
  
“How do we know where the giant is?” Piper asked.  
  
Jason pointed toward the peak. Drifting across the summit was a plume of smoke. From a distance, I had thought it was a cloud, but it wasn’t. Something was burning.

“Smoke equals fire,” Jason said. “We’d better hurry.”  
  
The Wilderness School had taken me on several forced marches. I thought I was in good shape. But climbing a mountain when the earth was trying to swallow my feet was like jogging on a flypaper treadmill.  
  
In no time, I had rolled up the sleeves on my collarless shirt, even though the wind was cold and sharp. I wished Aphrodite had given me walking shorts and some more comfortable shoes, but I was grateful for the Ray-Bans that kept the sun out of my eyes. I slipped my hands into the tool belt and started summoning supplies - gears, a tiny wrench, some strips of bronze. As we walked, I built - not really thinking about it, just fiddling with pieces.  
  
By the time we neared the crest of the mountain, I was the most fashionably dressed sweaty, dirty hero ever. My hands were covered in machine grease.  
  
The little object I’d made was like a windup toy - the kind that rattles and walks across a coffee table. I wasn’t sure what it could do, but I slipped it into my tool belt.  
  
I missed my army coat with all its pockets. Even more than that, I missed Festus. We could use a fire-breathing bronze dragon right now. But I knew Festus would not be coming back - at least, not in his old form.  
  
I patted the picture in my pocket - the crayon drawing I’d made at the picnic table under the pecan tree when I was five years old. I remembered Tía Callida singing as I worked, and how upset I’d been when the winds had snatched the picture away. _It isn’t time yet, little hero,_ Tía Callida had told him. _Someday, yes. You’ll have your quest. You will find your destiny, and your hard journey will finally make sense._  
  
Now Aeolus had returned the picture. I knew that meant my destiny was getting close; but the journey was as frustrating as this stupid mountain. Every time I thought we’d reached the summit, it turned out to be just another ridge with an even higher one behind it.  
  
 _First things first_ , I told myself. Survive today. _Figure out crayon drawing of destiny later._  
  
Finally Jason crouched behind a wall of rock. He gestured for the others to do the same. I crawled up next to him. Piper had to pull Coach Hedge down.  
  
“I don’t want to get my outfit dirty!” Hedge complained.  
  
“Shhh!” Piper said.  
  
Reluctantly, the satyr knelt.  
  
Just over the ridge where we were hiding, in the shadow of the mountain’s final crest, was a forested depression about the size of a football field, where the giant Enceladus had set up camp.  
  
Trees had been cut down to make a towering purple bonfire. The outer rim of the clearing was littered with extra logs and construction equipment - an earthmover; a big crane thing with rotating blades at the end like an electric shaver - must be a tree harvester, I thought - and a long metal column with an ax blade, like a sideways guillotine - a hydraulic ax.  
  
Why a giant needed construction equipment, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t see how the creature in front of me could even fit in the driver’s seat. The giant Enceladus was so large, so horrible, I didn’t want to look at him.  
  
But I forced myself to focus on the monster.  
  
To start with, he was thirty feet tall - easily as tall as the treetops. I was sure the giant could’ve seen us behind their ridge, but he seemed intent on the weird purple bonfire, circling it and chanting under his breath. From the waist up, the giant appeared humanoid, his muscular chest clad in bronze armor, decorated with flame designs. His arms were completely ripped. Each of his biceps was bigger than me. His skin was bronze but sooty with ash. His face was crudely shaped, like a half-finished clay figure, but his eyes glowed white, and his hair was matted in shaggy dreadlocks down to his shoulders, braided with bones.  
  
From the waist down, he was even more terrifying. His legs were scaly green, with claws instead of feet - like the forelegs of a dragon. In his hand, Enceladus held a spear the size of a flagpole. Every so often he dipped its tip in the fire, turning the metal molten red.  
  
“Okay,” Coach Hedge whispered. “Here’s the plan-”  
  
Leo elbowed him. “You’re not charging him alone!”  
  
“Aw, c’mon.”  
  
Piper choked back a sob. “Look.”  
  
Just visible on the other side of the bonfire was a man tied to a post. His head slumped like he was unconscious, so Leo couldn’t make out his face, but Piper didn’t seem to have any doubts.  
  
“Dad,” she said.  
  
I swallowed. I wished this were a Tristan McLean movie. Then Piper’s dad would be faking unconsciousness. He’d untie his bonds and knock out the giant with some cleverly hidden anti-giant gas. Heroic music would start to play, and Tristan McLean would make his amazing escape, running away in slow motion while the mountainside exploded behind him.  
  
But this wasn’t a movie. Tristan McLean was half dead and about to be eaten. The only people who could stop it - four fashionably dressed teenaged demigods and a megalomaniac goat.  
  
“There’s four of us,” Hedge whispered urgently. “And only one of him.”  
  
“Did you miss the fact that he’s thirty feet tall?” Leo asked.  
  
“Okay,” Hedge said. “So you, me, and Jason distract him. Piper sneaks around and frees her dad. Theodora goes with her to make sure he doesn't die of fear.”  
  
We all looked at Jason.  
  
“What?” Jason asked. “I’m not the leader.”  
  
“Yes,” Dor said. “You are.”  
  
We’d never really talked about it, but no one disagreed, not even Hedge. Coming this far had been a team effort, but when it came to a life-and-death decision, I knew Jason was the one to ask. Even if he had no memory, Jason had a kind of balance to him. You could just tell he’d been in battles before, and he knew how to keep his cool. I wasn’t exactly the trusting type, but I trusted Jason with my life.  
  
“I hate to say it,” Jason sighed, “but Coach Hedge is right. A distraction is Piper’s best chance.”  
  
Not a good chance, I thought. Not even a survivable chance. Just our _best_ chance.  
  
We couldn’t sit there all day and talk about it, though. It had to be close to noon - the giant’s deadline - and the ground was still trying to pull us down. My knees had already sunk two inches into the dirt.  
  
I looked at the construction equipment and got a crazy idea. I brought out the little toy I’d made on the climb, and I realized what it could do - if I was lucky, which I almost never was.  
  
“Let’s boogie,” I said. “Before I come to my senses.”

* * * * *

The plan went wrong almost immediately. Piper scrambled along the ridge with Dor right behind her, trying to keep their heads down, while Jason, Coach Hedge and I walked straight into the clearing.  
  
Jason summoned his golden lance. He brandished it over his head and yelled, “Giant!” Which sounded pretty good, and a lot more confident than I could’ve managed. I was thinking more along the lines of, “We are pathetic ants! Don’t kill us!”  
  
Enceladus stopped chanting at the flames. He turned toward us and grinned, revealing fangs like a saber-toothed tiger’s.  
  
“Well,” the giant rumbled. “What a nice surprise.”  
  
I didn’t like the sound of that. My hand closed on my windup gadget. I stepped sideways, edging my way toward the bulldozer.  
  
Coach Hedge shouted, “Let the movie star go, you big ugly cupcake! Or I’m gonna plant my hoof right up your-”  
  
“Coach,” Jason said. “Shut up.”  
  
Enceladus roared with laughter. “I’ve forgotten how funny satyrs are. When we rule the world, I think I’ll keep your kind around. You can entertain me while I eat all the other mortals.”  
  
“Is that a compliment?” Hedge frowned at me. “I don’t think that was a compliment.”  
  
Enceladus opened his mouth wide, and his teeth began to glow.  
  
“Scatter!” I yelled.  
  
Jason and Hedge dove to the left as the giant blew fire - a furnace blast so hot even Festus would’ve been jealous. I dodged behind the bulldozer, wound up my homemade device, and dropped it into the driver’s seat. Then I ran to the right, heading for the tree harvester.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, I saw Jason rise and charge the giant. Coach Hedge ripped off his canary yellow jacket, which was now on fire, and bleated angrily. “I liked that outfit!” Then he raised his club and charged, too.  
  
Before they could get very far, Enceladus slammed his spear against the ground. The entire mountain shook.  
  
The shockwave sent me sprawling. I blinked, momentarily stunned. Through a haze of grassfire and bitter smoke, I saw Jason staggering to his feet on the other side of the clearing. Coach Hedge was knocked out cold. He’d fallen forward and hit his head on a log. His furry hindquarters were sticking straight up, with his canary yellow pants around his knees - a view I really didn’t need.  
  
The giant bellowed, “I see you, Piper McLean, Theodora Castellan!” He turned and blew fire at a line of bushes to my right. Piper and Dor ran into the clearing like flushed quails, the underbrush burning behind them.  
  
Enceladus laughed. “I’m happy you’ve arrived. And you brought me my prizes!”  
  
My gut twisted. This was the moment Piper had warned us about. We’d played right into Enceladus’s hands.  
  
The giant must’ve read my expression, because he laughed even louder. “That’s right, son of Hephaestus. I didn’t expect you all to stay alive this long, but it doesn’t matter. By bringing you here, Piper McLean has sealed the deal. If she betrays you, I’m as good as my word. She can take her father and go. What do I care about a movie star?”  
  
I could see Piper’s dad more clearly now. He wore a ragged dress shirt and torn slacks. His bare feet were caked with mud. He wasn’t completely unconscious, because he lifted his head and groaned - yep, Tristan McLean all right. I had seen that face in enough movies. But he had a nasty cut down the side of his face, and he looked thin and sickly - not heroic at all.  
  
“Dad!” Piper yelled.  
  
Mr. McLean blinked, trying to focus. “Pipes...? Where...”  
  
Piper drew her dagger and faced Enceladus. “Let him go!”  
  
“Of course, dear,” the giant rumbled. “Swear your loyalty to me, and we have no problem. Only these others must die.”  
  
Piper looked back and forth between me and her dad.  
  
“He’ll kill you,” I warned. “Don’t trust him!”  
  
“Oh, come now,” Enceladus bellowed. “You know I was born to fight Athena herself? Mother Gaea made each of us giants with a specific purpose, designed to fight and destroy a particular god. I was Athena’s nemesis, the anti-Athena, you might say. Compared to some of my brethren - I am small! But I am clever. And I keep my bargain with you, Piper McLean. It’s part of my plan!”  
  
Jason was on his feet now, lance ready; but before he could act, Enceladus roared - a call so loud it echoed down the valley and was probably heard all the way to San Francisco.  
  
At the edge the woods, half a dozen ogre-like creatures rose up. I realized with nauseating certainty that they hadn’t simply been hiding there. They’d risen straight out of the earth.

The ogres shuffled forward. They were small compared to Enceladus, about seven feet tall. Each one of them had six arms - one pair in the regular spot, then an extra pair sprouting out the top of their shoulders, and another set shooting from the sides of their rib cages. They wore only ragged leather loincloths, and even across the clearing, I could smell them. Six guys who never bathed, with six armpits each. I decided if I survived this day, I’d have to take a three-hour shower just to forget the stench.  
  
I stepped toward the girls. “What - what are those?”  
  
Piper's blade reflected the purple light of the bonfire. “Gegenees,” Dor grumbled.  
  
“In English?” Leo asked.  
  
“The Earthborn,” Piper said. “Six-armed giants who fought Jason - the first Jason.”  
  
“Very good, my dears!” Enceladus sounded delighted. “They used to live on a miserable place in Greece called Bear Mountain. Mount Diablo is much nicer! They are lesser children of Mother Earth, but they serve their purpose. They’re good with construction equipment-”  
  
“Vroom, vroom!” one of the Earthborn bellowed, and the others took up the chant, each moving his six hands as though driving a car, as if it were some kind of weird religious ritual. “Vroom, vroom!”  
  
“Yes, thank you, boys,” Enceladus said. “They also have a score to settle with heroes. Especially anyone named Jason.”  
  
“Yay-son!” the Earthborn screamed. They all picked up clumps of earth, which solidified in their hands, turning to nasty pointed stones. “Where Yay-son? Kill Yay-son!”  
  
Enceladus smiled. “You see, Piper, you have a choice. Save your father, or ah, try to save your friends and face certain death.”  
  
Piper stepped forward. Her eyes blazed with such rage, even the Earthborn backed away. She radiated power and beauty, but it had nothing to do with her clothes or her makeup.  
  
“You will not take the people I love,” she said. “None of them.”  
  
Her words rippled across the clearing with such force, the Earthborn muttered, “Okay. Okay, sorry,” and began to retreat.  
  
“Stand your ground, fools!” Enceladus bellowed. He snarled at Piper. “This is why we wanted you alive, my dear. You could have been so useful to us. But as you wish. Earth-born! I will show you Jason.”  
  
Leo’s heart sank. But the giant didn’t point to Jason. He pointed to the other side of the bonfire, where Tristan McLean hung helpless and half conscious.  
  
“There is Jason,” Enceladus said with pleasure. “Tear him apart!”

my biggest surprise: One look from Jason, and all four of us knew the game plan. When had that happened, that we could read each other so well?  
  
Jason charged Enceladus, while Piper rushed to her father, immediately joined by Dor, and I dashed for the tree harvester, which stood between Mr. McLean and the Earthborn.  
  
The Earthborn were fast, but I ran like a storm spirit. I leaped toward the harvester from five feet away and slammed into the driver’s seat. My hands flew across the controls, and the machine responded with unnatural speed - coming to life as if it knew how important this was.  
  
“Ha!” I screamed, and swung the crane arm through the bonfire, toppling burning logs onto the Earthborn and spraying sparks everywhere. Two giants went down under a fiery avalanche and melted back into the earth - hopefully to stay for a while.  
  
The other four ogres stumbled across burning logs and hot coals while I brought the harvester around. I smashed a button, and on the end of the crane arm the wicked rotating blades began to whir.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Piper at the stake, cutting her father free. Dor had her hand on his forehead. On the other side of the clearing, Jason fought the giant, somehow managing to dodge his massive spear and blasts of fire breath. Coach Hedge was still heroically passed out with his goat tail sticking up in the air.  
  
The whole side of the mountain would soon be ablaze. The fire wouldn’t bother me, but if my friends got trapped up here - No. I had to act quickly.  
  
One of the Earthborn - apparently not the most intelligent one - charged the tree harvester, and I swung the crane arm in his direction. As soon as the blades touched the ogre, he dissolved like wet clay and splattered all over the clearing. Most of him flew into my face.  
  
I spit clay out of my mouth and turned the harvester toward the three remaining Earthborn, who backed up quickly.  
  
“Bad vroom-vroom!” one yelled.  
  
“Yeah, that’s right!” I yelled at them. “You want some bad vroom-vroom? Come on!”  
  
Unfortunately, they did. Three ogres with six arms, each throwing large, hard rocks at super speed - and I knew it was over. Somehow, I launched myself in a backward somersault off the harvester half a second before a boulder demolished the driver’s seat. Rocks slammed into metal. By the time I stumbled to my feet, the harvester looked like a crushed soda can, sinking in the mud.  
  
“Dozer!” I yelled.  
  
The ogres were picking up more clumps of earth, but this time they were glaring in Piper’s direction.  
  
Thirty feet away, the bulldozer roared to life. My makeshift gadget had done its job, burrowing into the earthmover’s controls and giving it a temporary life of its own. It roared toward the enemy.  
  
Just as Piper cut her father free and Dor caught him in her arms, the giants launched their second volley of stones. The dozer swiveled in the mud, skidding to intercept, and most of the rocks slammed into its shovel. The force was so great it pushed the dozer back. Two rocks ricocheted and struck their throwers. Two more Earthborn melted into clay. Unfortunately, one rock hit the dozer’s engine, sending up a cloud of oily smoke, and the dozer groaned to a stop. Another great toy broken.  
  
Piper dragged her father below the ridge, Dor with both her hands on the side of his head. The last Earth-born charged after them.  
  
I was out of tricks, but I couldn’t let that monster get to them. I ran forward, straight through the flames, and grabbed something - anything - from the tool belt.  
  
“Hey, stupid!” I yelled, and threw a screwdriver at the Earthborn.  
  
It didn’t kill the ogre, but it sure got his attention. The screwdriver sank hilt-deep into the Earthborn’s forehead like he was made of Play-Doh.  
  
The Earthborn yelped in pain and skittered to a halt. He pulled out the screwdriver, turned and glared at me. Sadly, this last ogre looked like the biggest and nastiest of the bunch. Gaea had really gone all out creating him - with extra muscle upgrades, deluxe ugly face, the whole package.  
  
Oh, great, I thought. I’ve made a friend.  
  
“You die!” the Earthborn roared. “Friend of Yay-son dies!”  
  
The ogre scooped up handfuls of dirt, which immediately hardened into rock cannonballs.  
  
My mind went blank. I reached into my tool belt, but I couldn’t think of anything that would help. I was supposed to be clever - but I couldn’t craft or build or tinker my way out of this one.  
  
Fine, I thought. I’ll go out blaze-of-glory style.  
  
I burst into flames, yelled, “Hephaestus!” and charged at the ogre barehanded.  
  
I never got there.  
  
A blur of turquoise and black flashed behind the ogre. A gleaming bronze blade sliced up one side of the Earthborn and down the other.  
  
Six large arms dropped to the ground, boulders rolling out of their useless hands. The Earthborn looked down, very surprised. He mumbled, “Arms go bye-bye.”  
  
Then he melted into the ground.  
  
Piper stood there, breathing hard, her dagger covered with clay. Her dad sat at the ridge, dazed and wounded, but still alive. Dor was crouching next to him, holding his hands with her eyes closed.  
  
Piper’s expression was ferocious - almost crazy, like a cornered animal. I was glad she was on my side.  
  
“Nobody hurts my friends,” she said, and with a sudden warm feeling, I realized she was talking about me. Then she yelled, “Come on!”  
  
I saw that the battle wasn’t over. Jason was still fighting the giant Enceladus - and it wasn’t going well.


	25. Chapter 25

**JASON**

When my lance broke, I knew I was dead.  
  
The battle had started well enough. My instincts kicked in, and my gut told me I’d dueled opponents almost this big before. Size and strength equaled slowness, so I just had to be quicker - pace myself, wear out my opponent, and avoid getting smashed or flame-broiled.  
  
I rolled away from the giant’s first spear thrust and jabbed Enceladus in the ankle. My javelin managed to pierce the thick dragon hide, and golden ichor - the blood of immortals - trickled down the giant’s clawed foot.  
  
Enceladus bellowed in pain and blasted me with fire. I scrambled away, rolling behind the giant, and struck again behind his knee.  
  
It went on like that for seconds, minutes - it was hard to judge. I heard combat across the clearing - construction equipment grinding, fire roaring, monsters shouting, and rocks smashing into metal. I heard Leo and Piper yelling defiantly, which meant they were still alive. I didn't hear Dor one moment, but I tried not to think about it. I couldn’t afford to get distracted.  
  
Enceladus’s spear missed me by a millimeter. I kept dodging, but the ground stuck to my feet. Gaea was getting stronger, and the giant was getting faster. Enceladus might be slow, but he wasn’t dumb. He began anticipating my moves, and my attacks were only annoying him, making him more enraged.  
  
“I’m not some minor monster,” Enceladus bellowed. “I am a giant, born to destroy gods! Your little gold toothpick can’t kill me, boy.”  
  
I didn’t waste energy replying. I was already tired. The ground clung to my feet, making me feel like I weighed an extra hundred pounds. The air was full of smoke that burned my lungs. Fires roared around me, stoked by the winds, and the temperature was approaching the heat of an oven.  
  
I raised my javelin to block the giant’s next strike - a big mistake. _Don’t fight force with force_ , a voice chided me - the wolf Lupa, who’d told me that long ago. I managed to deflect the spear, but it grazed my shoulder, and my arm went numb.  
  
I backed up, almost tripping over a burning log.  
  
I had to delay - to keep the giant’s attention fixed on me while my friends dealt with the Earthborn and rescued Piper’s dad. I couldn’t fail.  
  
I retreated, trying to lure the giant to the edge of the clearing. Enceladus could sense my weariness. The giant smiled, baring his fangs.

“The mighty Jason Grace,” he taunted. “Yes, we know about you, son of Jupiter. The one who led the assault on Mount Othrys. The one who single-handedly slew the Titan Krios and toppled the black throne.”  
  
My mind reeled. I didn’t know these names, yet they made my skin tingle, as if my body remembered the pain my mind didn’t.  
  
“What are you talking about?” I asked. I realized my mistake when Enceladus breathed fire.  
  
Distracted, I moved too slowly. The blast missed me, but heat blistered my back. I slammed into the ground, my clothes smoldering. I was blinded from ash and smoke, choking as I tried to breathe.  
  
I scrambled back as the giant’s spear cleaved the ground between my feet.  
  
I managed to stand.  
  
If I could only summon one good blast of lightning - but I was already drained, and in this condition, the effort might kill me. I didn’t even know if electricity would harm the giant.

 _Death in battle is honorable_ , said Lupa’s voice.  
  
That’s real comforting, I thought.  
  
One last try: I took a deep breath and charged.  
  
Enceladus let me approach, grinning with anticipation. At the last second, I faked a strike and rolled between the giant’s legs. I came up quickly, thrusting with all my might, ready to stab the giant in the small of his back, but Enceladus anticipated the trick. He stepped aside with too much speed and agility for a giant, as if the earth were helping him move.  
  
He swept his spear sideways, met Jason’s javelin - and with a snap like a shotgun blast, the golden weapon shattered.  
  
The explosion was hotter than the giant’s breath, blinding me with golden light. The force knocked me off my feet and squeezed the breath out of me.  
  
When I regained my focus, I was sitting at the rim of a crater. Enceladus stood at the other side, staggering and confused. The javelin’s destruction had released so much energy, it had blasted a perfect cone-shaped pit thirty feet deep, fusing the dirt and rock into a slick glassy substance. I wasn’t sure how I’d survived, but my clothes were steaming. I was out of energy. I had no weapon. And Enceladus was still very much alive.  
  
I tried to get up, but my legs were like lead. Enceladus blinked at the destruction, then laughed. “Impressive! Unfortunately, that was your last trick, demigod.”  
  
Enceladus leaped the crater in a single bound, planting his feet on either side of me. The giant raised his spear, its tip hovering six feet over my chest.  
  
“And now,” Enceladus said, “my first sacrifice to Gaea!”  
  
Time seemed to slow down, which was really frustrating, since I still couldn’t move. I felt myself sinking into the earth like the ground was a waterbed -comfortable, urging me to relax and give up. I wondered if the stories of the Underworld were true. Would I end up in the Fields of Punishment or Elysium? If I couldn’t remember any of my deeds, would they still count? I wondered if the judges would take that into consideration, or if my dad, Zeus, would write me a note: “Please excuse Jason from eternal damnation. He has had amnesia.”  
  
I couldn’t feel my arms. I could see the tip of the spear coming toward my chest in slow motion. I knew I should move, but I couldn’t seem to do it. Funny, I thought. All that effort to stay alive, and then, _boom_. You just lie there helplessly while a fire-breathing giant impales you.  
  
Leo’s voice yelled, “Heads up!”  
  
A large black metal wedge slammed into Enceladus with a massive _thunk_! The giant toppled over and slid into the pit.  
  
“Jason, get up!” Piper called. Her voice energized me, shook me out of my stupor. I sat up, my head groggy, while Piper grabbed me under my arms and hauled me to his feet. Dor ran over, checked my face and body for major damage, and softly knocked on the side of my head.  
  
“Don’t die on us,” she ordered. “You are not dying on us.”  
  
“Okay.” I felt light-headed, but she was about the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Her white hair was smoldering. Her face was smudged with soot. She had half a ripped glove hanging off her arm, her tights were even more torn, and the thick black makeup line on her eyelid had smudged onto her cheek. Beautiful.  
  
About a hundred feet behind her, Leo was standing over a piece of construction equipment - a long, cannon-like thing with a single massive piston, the edge broken clean off.  
  
Then I looked down in the crater and saw where the other end of the hydraulic ax had gone. Enceladus was struggling to rise, an ax blade the size of a washing machine stuck in his breastplate.  
  
Amazingly, the giant managed to pull the ax blade free. He yelled in pain and the mountain trembled. Golden ichor soaked the front of his armor, but Enceladus sat up.  
  
Shakily, he leaned over and retrieved his spear.  
  
“Good try.” The giant winced. “But I cannot be beaten.”  
  
As we watched, the giant’s armor mended itself, and the ichor stopped flowing. Even the cuts on his dragon-scale legs, which I had worked so hard to make, were now just pale scars.

Leo started running up to us, but the giant started to get on his feet again. “What is it with this guy? Die, already!” As he screamed, Enceladus' eyes zeroed in on him.

Theo kissed my forehead, squeezed Piper's shoulder as she pushed her way past her, and stepped forward. She plucked one of the charms off her bracelet and threw the knife right into Enceladus' eye. He roared loudly and yanked it out, throwing it on the ground besides him. As I watched, stunned at her actions, it shimmered and disappeared.

"Daughter of Lyssa. You might have been the key to defeating Kronos, but you'll fail to defeat me. There's no big cousin weak enough to sacrifice himself for you here."

"You will not speak of Luke. You will not disrespect his death, and you. Will. Die." I'd never heard her speak more fiercely, and her hands were fully enveloped in the grey energy I'd seen in the cave before. It was swirling up her arms, and the giant's eyes widened microscopically before he grinned.

“My fate is preordained,” Enceladus said. “Giants cannot be killed by gods or heroes.”  
  
“Only by both,” I said. The giant’s smile faltered, and I saw in his eyes something like fear. “It’s true, isn’t it? Gods and demigods have to work together to kill you.”  
  
“You will not live long enough to try!” The giant started stumbling up the crater’s slope, slipping on the glassy sides.  
  
“Anyone have a god handy?” Leo asked.  
  
My heart filled with dread. I looked at the giant below us, struggling to get out of the pit, and I knew what had to happen.  
  
“Leo,” he said, “if you’ve got a rope in that tool belt, get it ready.”  
  
I leaped at the giant with no weapon but my bare hands.  
  
“Enceladus!” Piper yelled. “Look behind you!”  
  
It was an obvious trick, but her voice was so compelling, even I bought it. The giant said, “What?” and turned like there was an enormous spider on his back. Theo took that opportunity to leap at him and touch his temple. His eyes went fully grey and he screamed, clawing at his head. He grabbed Theo by the waist and threw her to the side. I wanted to go help her, but I had to keep my focus.  
  
I tackled his legs just in time. The giant lost his balance. Enceladus slammed into the crater and slid to the bottom. While he tried to rise, I put my arms around the giant’s neck. When Enceladus struggled to his feet, I was riding his shoulders.  
  
“Get off!” Enceladus screamed. He tried to grab my legs, but I scrabbled around, squirming and climbing over the giant’s hair.  
  
 _Father_ , I thought. _If I’ve ever done anything good, anything you approved of, help me now. I offer my own life - just save my friends._  
  
Suddenly I could smell the metallic scent of a storm. Darkness swallowed the sun. The giant froze, sensing it too.  
  
I yelled to my friends, “Hit the deck!”  
  
And every hair on my head stood straight up.  
  
 _Crack_!  
  
Lightning surged through my body, straight through Enceladus, and into the ground. The giant’s back stiffened, and I was thrown clear. When I regained my bearings, I was slipping down the side of the crater, and the crater was cracking open. The lightning bolt had split the mountain itself. The earth rumbled and tore apart, and Enceladus’s legs slid into the chasm. He clawed helplessly at the glassy sides of the pit, and just for a moment managed to hold on to the edge, his hands trembling.  
  
He fixed me with a look of hatred. “You’ve won nothing, boy. My brothers are rising, and they are ten times as strong as I. We will destroy the gods at their roots! You will die, and Olympus will die with-”  
  
The giant lost his grip and fell into the crevice.  
  
The earth shook. I fell toward the rift.  
  
“Grab hold!” Leo yelled.  
  
My feet were at the edge of the chasm when I grabbed the rope, and Leo and Piper pulled it up. Dor grabbed my forearms when she could reach them and, with more strength than I thought she had, yanked me up all the way.  
  
We stood together, exhausted and terrified, as the chasm closed like an angry mouth. The ground stopped pulling at our feet.  
  
For now, Gaea was gone.  
  
The mountainside was on fire. Smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air. I spotted a helicopter - maybe firefighters or reporters - coming toward us.  
  
All around us was carnage. The Earthborn had melted into piles of clay, leaving behind only their rock missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth, but I figured they would re-form soon enough. Construction equipment lay in ruins. The ground was scarred and blackened.  
  
Coach Hedge started to move. He sat up with a groan and rubbed his head. His canary yellow pants were now the color of Dijon mustard mixed with mud.  
  
He blinked and looked around him at the battle scene. “Did I do this?”  
  
Before any of us could reply, Hedge picked up his club and got shakily to his feet. “Yeah, you wanted some hoof? I gave you some hoof, cupcakes! Who’s the goat, huh?”  
  
He did a little dance, kicking rocks and making what were probably rude satyr gestures at the piles of clay.  
  
Leo cracked a smile, and I couldn’t help it - I started to laugh. It probably sounded a little hysterical, but it was such a relief to be alive, I didn’t care.  
  
Then a man stood up across the clearing. Tristan McLean staggered forward. His eyes were hollow, shell-shocked, like someone who’d just walked through a nuclear wasteland.  
  
“Piper?” he called. His voice cracked. “Pipes, what - what is-”  
  
He couldn’t complete the thought. Piper ran over to him and hugged him tightly, but he almost didn’t seem to know her.  
  
I had felt a similar way - that morning at the Grand Canyon, when I woke with no memory. But Mr. McLean had the opposite problem. He had too many memories, too much trauma his mind just couldn’t handle. He was coming apart.  
  
“We need to get him out of here,” Jason said.  
  
“Yeah, but how?” Leo said. “He’s in no shape to walk.”  
  
I glanced up at the helicopter, which was now circling directly overhead. “Can you make us a bullhorn or something?” I asked Leo. “Piper has some talking to do.”

* * * * *

Borrowing the helicopter was easy. Getting Piper's dad on board was not.  
  
Piper needed only a few words through Leo’s improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain. The Park Service copter was big enough for medical evacuations or search and rescue, and when Piper told the very nice ranger pilot lady that it would be a great idea to fly them to the Oakland Airport, she readily agreed.  
  
“No,” her dad muttered, as we picked him up off the ground. “Piper, what - there were monsters - there were monsters-”  
  
She needed both Leo’s and my help to hold him, while Dor held his hand and Coach Hedge gathered their supplies. Fortunately Hedge had put his pants and shoes back on, so Piper didn’t have to explain the goat legs.  
  
“It’ll be okay, Dad,” Piper said, her voice soothing. “These people are my friends. We’re going to help you. You’re safe now.”  
  
He blinked, and looked up at helicopter rotors. “Blades. They had a machine with so many blades. They had six arms...”  
  
When we got him to the bay doors, the pilot came over to help. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked.  
  
“Smoke inhalation,” I suggested. “Or heat exhaustion.”  
  
“We should get him to a hospital,” the pilot said.  
  
“It’s okay,” Piper said. “The airport is good.”  
  
“Yeah, the airport is good,” the pilot agreed immediately. Then she frowned, as if uncertain why she’d changed her mind. “Isn’t he Tristan McLean, the movie star?”  
  
“No,” Piper said. “He only looks like him. Forget it.”  
  
“Yeah,” the pilot said. “Only looks like him. I-” She blinked, confused. “I forgot what I was saying. Let’s get going.”  
  
I raised my eyebrows at Piper, impressed.  
  
Finally we got him on board, and the helicopter took off. The pilot kept getting questions over her radio, asking her where she was going, but she ignored them. We veered away from the burning mountain and headed toward the Berkeley Hills.  
  
“Piper.” Her dad grasped her hand and held on like he was afraid he’d fall. “It’s you? They told me - they told me you would die. They said... horrible things would happen.”  
  
“It’s me, Dad. Everything’s going to be okay.”  
  
“They were monsters,” he said. “Real monsters. Earth spirits, right out of Grandpa Tom’s stories - and the Earth Mother was angry with me. And the giant, Tsul’kälû, breathing fire-” He focused on Piper again, his eyes like broken glass, reflecting a crazy kind of light. “They said you were a demigod. Your mother was...”  
  
“Aphrodite,” Piper said. “Goddess of love.”  
  
“I-I-” He took a shaky breath, then seemed to forget how to exhale.

Leo and I were careful not to watch. He fiddled with a lug nut from his tool belt. I gazed at the valley below - the roads backing up as mortals stopped their cars and gawked at the burning mountain. Gleeson chewed on the stub of his carnation, and for once the satyr didn’t look in the mood to yell or boast.

Tristan McLean wasn’t supposed to be seen like this. He was a star. He was confident, stylish, suave - always in control. That was the public image he projected. Now it was broken, gone.  
  
“I didn’t know about Mom,” Piper told him. “Not until you were taken. When we found out where you were, we came right away. My friends helped me. No one will hurt you again.”  
  
Her dad couldn’t stop shivering. “You’re heroes - you and your friends. I can’t believe it. You’re a real hero, not like me. Not playing a part. I’m so proud of you, Pipes.” But the words were muttered listlessly, in a semi-trance.  
  
He gazed down on the valley. “Your mother never told me.”  
  
“She thought it was for the best.”  
  
She held his hand, speaking to him about small things - her time at the Wilderness School, her cabin at Camp Half-Blood. She told him how Coach Hedge ate carnations and got knocked on his butt on Mount Diablo, how Leo had tamed a dragon, and how Jason had made wolves back down by talking in Latin. I smiled reluctantly. Her dad seemed to relax as she talked, but he didn’t smile. I wasn’t even sure he heard her.  
  
As we passed over the hills into the East Bay, I tensed. I leaned out the doorway so far Theo let go of Piper's dad to hold my arm.  
  
I pointed. “What is that?”  
  
She looked down.  
  
“Where?” Piper asked, looking over as well.  
  
“That road,” he said. “The one that goes through the hills.”  
  
Piper picked up the com helmet the pilot had given her and relayed the question over the radio. The answer wasn’t very exciting.  
  
“She says it’s Highway 24,” Piper reported. “That’s the Caldecott Tunnel. Why?”  
  
I felt memories burning at the back of my mind as we flew over it. I winced, and Theo moved her hand from my forearm to my wrist, pulling me back gently and encasing me in a hug.  
  
“Monsters,” Tristan McLean spoke up, a tear tracing his cheek. “I live in a world of monsters.”

* * * * *

Air traffic control didn't want to let an unscheduled helicopter land at the Oakland Airport - until Piper got on the radio. Then it turned out to be no problem.

We unloaded on the tarmac, and everyone looked at Piper.  
  
“What now?” I asked her.

“First thing,” she said. “I - I have to get my dad home. I’m sorry, guys.”  
  
Our faces fell.  
  
“Oh,” Leo said. “I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here.”  
  
“Pipes, no.” Her dad had been sitting in the helicopter doorway, a blanket around his shoulders, Dor holding with a hand resting on his wrist. But he stumbled to his feet. “You have a mission. A quest. I can’t-”  
  
“I’ll take care of him,” said Coach Hedge.  
  
Piper stared at him. The satyr was probably the last person she’d expected to offer. “You?” she asked.  
  
“I’m a protector,” Gleeson said. “That’s my job, not fighting.”  
  
He sounded a little crestfallen, and I realized maybe Piper shouldn’t have recounted how he got knocked unconscious in the last battle. In his own way, maybe the satyr was as sensitive as her dad.  
  
Then Hedge straightened, and set his jaw. “Of course, I’m good at fighting, too.” He glared at us all, daring us to argue.  
  
“Yes,” Jason said.  
  
“Terrifying,” Leo agreed.  
  
The coach grunted. “But I’m a protector, and I can do this. Your dad’s right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest.”  
  
“But... Dad..”  
  
He held out his arms, and she hugged him.  
  
“Let’s give them a minute,” I said, and we took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac, leaving the two of them alone with Dor. After we'd hugged in the helicopter, she'd told me her powers and Piper's presence were the only things keeping his mind from fully collapsing.  
  
I heard them speaking, and Piper took a pink vial out of her coat pocket. They talked a little more, an she gave it to him. I didn't need to hear their actual words to know they were telling the other they loved them, and they nodded to Dor. She placed both of her hands on the sides of his head, fingers lightly touching his temples, and grey started swirling calmly as he drank the potion. Then he collapsed, and the girls caught him. We ran up to help.  
  
“Got him,” Hedge said. The satyr stumbled, but he was strong enough to hold Tristan McLean upright. “I already asked our ranger friend to call up his plane. It’s on the way now. Home address?”  
  
Piper hesitated, then checked her dad’s pocket, and his phone was in there.  
  
“Everything’s on here,” Piper said. “Address, his chauffeur’s number. Just watch out for Jane.”  
  
Hedge’s eyes lit up, like he sensed a possible fight. “Who’s Jane?”  
  
By the time Piper explained, her dad’s sleek white Gulf-stream had taxied next to the helicopter.  
  
Hedge and the flight attendant got Piper’s dad on board. Then Hedge came down one last time to say his good-byes. He gave the girls both a hug and glared at Leo and me. “You cupcakes take care of these girls, you hear? Or I’m gonna make you do push-ups.”  
  
“You got it, Coach,” Leo said, a smile tugging at his mouth.  
  
“No push-ups,” Jason promised.  
  
Piper gave the old satyr one more hug. “Thank you, Gleeson. Take care of him, please.”  
  
“I got this, McLean,” he assured her. “They got root beer and veggie enchiladas on this flight, and one hundred percent linen napkins - yum! I could get used to this.”  
  
Trotting up the stairs, he lost one shoe, and his hoof was visible for just a second. The flight attendant’s eyes widened, but she looked away and pretended nothing was wrong. I figured she’d probably seen stranger things, working for Tristan McLean.  
  
When the plane was heading down the runaway, Piper started to cry. Dor immediately engulfed her in a hug, while I stood next to them with an arm around Piper's shoulders. Leo was pulling Kleenex out of his tool belt.  
  
“Your dad’s in good hands,” I said. “You did amazing.”  
  
She sobbed into Dor's shirt. She allowed herself to be held for six deep breaths. Seven. Then she let go of Dor, and I took my arm off of her.

The helicopter pilot was already looking uncomfortable, like she was starting to wonder why she’d flown them here.

“Thank you, guys,” Piper said. “I-”  
  
She looked like she couldn't form her thoughts into words, but we understood.

Then, right next to me, the air began to shimmer. It was an Iris message. An image appeared in the air - a dark-haired girl in silver winter camouflage, holding a bow.  
  
I stumbled back in surprise. “Thalia!” "Pines! You're okay!" Theo let out a huge breath of air after she'd spoken.  
  
“Thank the gods,” said the Hunter. The scene behind her was hard to make out, but I heard yelling, metal clashing on metal, and explosions.  
  
“We’ve found her,” Thalia said. “Where are you?”  
  
“Oakland,” I said. “Where are you?”  
  
“The Wolf House! Oakland is good; you’re not too far. We’re holding off the giant’s minions, but we can’t hold them forever. Get here before sunset, or it’s all over.”  
  
“Then it’s not too late?” Piper cried. Hope surged through me, but Thalia’s expression quickly dampened it.  
  
“Not yet,” Thalia said. “But Jason - it’s worse than I realized. Porphyrion is rising. Hurry.”  
  
“But where is the Wolf House?” I pleaded.  
  
“Our last trip,” Thalia said, her image starting to flicker. “The park. Jack London. Remember?”  
  
I felt like I'd been tasered. I barely made out Thalia's encouraging smile at us and - though I may have imagined it - wink at Piper.  
  
“Bro, you all right?” Leo asked. “You know where she is?”  
  
“Yes,” I said. “Sonoma Valley. Not far. Not by air.”  
  
Piper turned to the ranger pilot, who’d been watching all this with an increasingly puzzled expression.  
  
“Ma’am,” Piper said with her best smile. “You don’t mind helping us one more time, do you?”  
  
“I don’t mind,” the pilot agreed.  
  
“We can’t take a mortal into battle,” I said. “It’s too dangerous.” Theo brightened up and turned to Leo. “Do you think you could fly this thing?”  
  
“Um...” Leo’s expression didn’t exactly reassure me. But then he put his hand on the side of the helicopter, concentrating hard, as if listening to the machine.  
  
“Bell 412HP utility helicopter,” Leo said. “Composite four-blade main rotor, cruising speed twenty-two knots, service ceiling twenty-thousand feet. The tank is near full. Sure, I can fly it.”  
  
Piper smiled at the ranger again. “You don’t have a problem with an under-aged unlicensed kid borrowing your copter, do you? We’ll return it.”  
  
“I-” The pilot nearly choked on the words, but she got them out: “I don’t have a problem with that.”  
  
Leo grinned. “Hop in, kids. Uncle Leo’s gonna take you for a ride.”


	26. Chapter 26

**THEODORA**  
  
The sun was going down as we flew north over the Richmond Bridge.  
  
“Going okay?” Piper asked Leo from the copilot’s seat. They were both very nervous, but Leo spoke confidently.  
  
“Aces,” he said. “So what’s the Wolf House?”  
  
Jason knelt between their seats, with me to his left behind him. “An abandoned mansion in the Sonoma Valley. A demigod built it - Jack London.”  
  
“He an actor?”  
  
“Writer,” Piper said. “Adventure stuff, right? Call of the Wild? White Fang?”  
  
“Yeah,” Jason said. “He was a son of Mercury - I mean, Hermes. He was an adventurer, traveled the world. He was even a hobo for a while. Then he made a fortune writing. He bought a big ranch in the country and decided to build this huge mansion - the Wolf House.”  
  
“Named that ’cause he wrote about wolves?” Leo guessed.  
  
“Partially,” Jason said. “But the site, and the reason he wrote about wolves - he was dropping hints about his personal experience. There’re a lot of holes in his life story - how he was born, who his dad was, why he wandered around so much - stuff you can only explain if you know he was a demigod.”  
  
The bay slipped behind us, and the helicopter continued north. Ahead of us, yellow hills rolled out as far as we could see.  
  
“So Jack London went to Camp Half-Blood,” Leo guessed.  
  
“No,” Jason said. “No, he didn’t.”

“Bro, you’re freaking me out with the mysterious talk. Are you remembering your past or not?”  
  
“Pieces,” Jason said. “Only pieces. None of it good. The Wolf House is on sacred ground. It’s where London started his journey as a child - where he found out he was a demigod. That’s why he returned there. He thought he could live there, claim that land, but it wasn’t meant for him. The Wolf House was cursed. It burned in a fire a week before he and his wife were supposed to move in. A few years later, London died, and his ashes were buried on the site.”  
  
“So,” Piper said, “how do you know all this?”  
  
A shadow crossed Jason’s face. Probably just a cloud, but I could swear the shape looked like an eagle. I put my hand on his shoulder, and he covered it with his.  
  
“I started my journey there too,” Jason said. “It’s a powerful place for demigods, a dangerous place. If Gaea can claim it, use its power to entomb Hera on the solstice and raise Porphyrion - that might be enough to awaken the earth goddess fully.”  
  
“Thirty minutes out,” Leo told us. “If you want to get some rest, now’s a good time.”  
  
Jason strapped himself into the back of the helicopter and passed out almost immediately. I sat down next to him. It wasn't night-time, so I rested my head on his shoulder and dozed off.

* * * * *

I woke from a spike of fear, Leo's and Piper's to be exact. After regaining my bearings, I unbuckled myself incase we had to jump out. The copter shuddered again and Jason woke up quickly. He crawled forward, grabbing the front seats for balance. “We’ve got to be getting close.”

Leo was too busy wrestling with the stick to reply. The helicopter's movements turned sluggish and jerky. The whole machine shuddered in the icy wind. The helicopter probably hadn’t been prepped for cold-weather flying. The controls refused to respond, and we started to lose altitude.  
  
Below us, the ground was a dark quilt of trees and fog. The ridge of a hill loomed in front of them and Leo yanked the stick, just clearing the treetops.  
  
“There!” Jason shouted.  
  
A small valley opened up before us, with the murky shape of a building in the middle. Leo aimed the helicopter straight for it. All around us were flashes of light that reminded me of the tracer fire at Midas’s compound. Trees cracked and exploded at the edges of the clearing. Shapes moved through the mist. Combat seemed to be everywhere.  
  
He set down the helicopter in an icy field about fifty yards from the house and killed the engine. I heard a whistling sound and saw a dark shape hurtling toward them out of the mist.  
  
“Out!” Leo screamed.  
  
We leaped from the helicopter and barely cleared the rotors before a massive BOOM shook the ground, knocking Leo off his feet and splattering ice all over him.  
  
He got up shakily and saw that the world’s largest snowball - a chunk of snow, ice, and dirt the size of a garage - had completely flattened the chopper.  
  
“You all right?” Jason ran up to him, me and Piper at his side.  
  
“Yeah.” Leo shivered. “Guess we owe that ranger lady a new helicopter.”  
  
Piper pointed south. “Fighting’s over there.” I shook my head. “No... it’s all around us.”

The sounds of combat rang across the valley. The snow and mist made it hard to tell for sure, but there seemed to be a circle of fighting all around the Wolf House.  
  
Behind us loomed Jack London’s dream home - a massive ruin of red and gray stones and rough-hewn timber beams. I could imagine how it had looked before it burned down - a combination log cabin and castle, like a billionaire lumberjack might build. But in the mist and sleet, the place had a lonely, haunted feel. I could totally believe the ruins were cursed.  
  
“Guys!” a girl’s voice called.  
  
Thalia appeared from the fog, her parka caked with snow. Her bow was in her hand, and her quiver was almost empty. She ran toward them, but made it only a few steps before a six-armed ogre - one of the Earthborn - burst out of the storm behind her, a raised club in each hand.  
  
We rushed to help, but Thalia had it under control. She launched herself into a flip, notching an arrow as she pivoted like a gymnast and landed in a kneeling position. The ogre got a silver arrow right between the eyes and melted into a pile of clay.  
  
Thalia stood and retrieved her arrow, but the point had snapped off. “That was my last one.” She kicked the pile of clay resentfully. “Stupid ogre.”  
  
“Nice shot, though,” Leo said.  
  
Thalia ignored him as usual. She hugged Jason and me and nodded to Piper. “Just in time. My Hunters are holding a perimeter around the mansion, but we’ll be overrun any minute.”  
  
“By Earthborn?” Jason asked.  
  
“ _And_ wolves - Lycaon’s minions.” Thalia blew a fleck of ice off her nose. “Also storm spirits-”  
  
“But we gave them to Aeolus!” Piper protested.  
  
“Who tried to kill us,” Leo reminded her. “Maybe he’s helping Gaea again.”  
  
“I don’t know,” Thalia said. “But the monsters keep re-forming almost as fast as we can kill them. We took the Wolf House with no problem: surprised the guards and sent them straight to Tartarus. But then this freak snowstorm blew in. Wave after wave of monsters started attacking. Now we’re surrounded. I don’t know who or what is leading the assault, but I think they planned this. It was a trap to kill anyone who tried to rescue Hera.”  
  
“Where is she?” Jason asked.  
  
“Inside,” Thalia said. “We tried to free her, but we can’t figure out how to break the cage. It’s only a few minutes until the sun goes down. Hera thinks that’s the moment when Porphyrion will be reborn. Plus, most monsters are stronger at night, and we only have one demigod and two hunters who are the same way. If we don’t free Hera soon-”  
  
She didn’t need to finish the thought.  
  
The four of us followed her into the ruined mansion.  
  
Jason stepped over the threshold and immediately collapsed.  
  
“Hey!” Leo caught him. “None of that, man. What’s wrong?”  
  
“This place...” Jason shook his head. “Sorry... It came rushing back to me.”  
  
“So you _have_ been here,” Piper said.  
  
“We both have,” Thalia said. Her expression was grim, and I could feel her mentally reliving one of her biggest trauma's. “This is where my mom took us when Jason was a child. She left him here, told me he was dead. He just disappeared.”  
  
“She gave me to the wolves,” Jason murmured. “At Hera’s insistence. She gave me to Lupa.”  
  
“That part I didn’t know.” Thalia frowned. “Who is Lupa?”  
  
An explosion shook the building. Just outside, a blue mushroom cloud billowed up, raining snowflakes and ice like a nuclear blast made of cold instead of heat.  
  
“Maybe this isn’t the time for questions,” Leo suggested. “Show us the goddess.”  
  
Once inside, Jason seemed to get his bearings. The house was built in a giant U, and Jason led them between the two wings to an outside courtyard with an empty reflecting pool. At the bottom of the pool, just as Jason had described from his dream, two spires of rock and root tendrils had cracked through the foundation.  
  
One of the spires was much bigger - a solid dark mass about twenty feet high, and it kind of looked like a stone body bag. Underneath the mass of fused tendrils I could make out the shape of a head, wide shoulders, a massive chest and arms, like the creature was stuck waist deep in the earth. No, not stuck - rising.  
  
On the opposite end of the pool, the other spire was smaller and more loosely woven. Each tendril was as thick as a telephone pole, with so little space between them that I doubted I could’ve gotten my arm through. Still, we could see inside.

And in the center of the cage stood Hera.  
  
Leo dropped into the pool and approached the cage. “ _Hola, Tía_. Little bit of trouble?”  
  
She crossed her arms and sighed in exasperation. “Don’t inspect me like I’m one of your machines, Leo Valdez. Get me out of here!”  
  
Thalia stepped next to him and looked at the cage with distaste - her annoyance at the goddess rivaled only by Annie and me. “We tried everything we could think of, Leo, but maybe my heart wasn’t in it. If it was up to me, I’d just leave her in there.”  
  
“Ohh, Thalia Grace,” the goddess said. “When I get out of here, you’ll be sorry you were ever born.”  
  
“Save it!” Thalia snapped. “You’ve been nothing but a curse to every child of Zeus for ages. You sent a bunch of intestinally challenged cows after my friend Annabeth-”  
  
“She was disrespectful!”

"You cursed Dor-"

"After she disregarded my competence!"  
  
“You dropped a statue on my legs.”  
  
“It was an accident!”  
  
“ _And_ you took my brother!” Thalia’s voice cracked with emotion. “Here - on this spot. You ruined our lives. We should leave you to Gaea!”  
  
“Hey,” I intervened. "It's okay, Pines. We know, but this isn't the time." "She's right," Jason spoke up. “You should help your Hunters.”  
  
Thalia clenched her jaw. “Fine. For you, Jason, Dor. But if you ask me, she isn’t worth it.”  
  
Thalia turned, leaped out of the pool, and stormed from the building.  
  
Leo turned to Hera with grudging respect. “Intestinally challenged cows?”  
  
“Focus on the cage, Leo,” she grumbled. “And Jason - you are wiser than your sister. I chose my champion well.”  
  
“I’m not your champion, lady,” Jason said. “I’m only helping you because you stole my memories and you’re better than the alternative. Speaking of which, what’s going on with that?”  
  
He nodded to the other spire that looked like the king-size granite body bag. Which had grown taller since we’d gotten here.  
  
“That, Jason,” Hera said, “is the king of the giants being reborn.”  
  
“Gross,” Piper said.  
  
“Indeed,” Hera said. “Porphyrion, the strongest of his kind. Gaea needed a great deal of power to raise him again - my power. For weeks I’ve grown weaker as my essence was used to grow him a new form.”  
  
“So you’re like a heat lamp,” Leo guessed. “Or fertilizer.”  
  
The goddess glared at him, but he probably didn’t care. This old lady had been making his life miserable since he was a baby - I'd seen the memories in my sleep when we were on the chopper. In my opinion, he had full rights to rag on her.  
  
“Joke all you wish,” Hera said in a clipped tone. “But at sundown, it will be too late. The giant will awake. He will offer me a choice: marry him, or be consumed by the earth. And I cannot marry him. We will all be destroyed. And as we die, Gaea will awaken.”  
  
Leo frowned at the giant’s spire. “Can’t we blow it up or something?”  
  
“Without me, you do not have the power,” Hera said. “You might as well try to destroy a mountain.”  
  
“Done that once today,” Jason said.  
  
“Just hurry up and let me out!” Hera demanded.  
  
Jason scratched his head. “Leo, can you do it?”  
  
“I don’t know.” Leo tried not to panic. “Besides, if she’s a goddess, why hasn’t she busted herself out?”  
  
Hera paced furiously around her cage, cursing in Ancient Greek. “Use your brain, Leo Valdez. I _picked_ you because you’re intelligent. Once trapped, a god’s power is useless. Your own father trapped me once in a golden chair. It was humiliating! I had to beg - _beg_ him for my freedom and apologize for throwing him off Olympus.”  
  
“Sounds fair,” Leo said.  
  
Hera gave him the godly stink-eye. “I’ve watched you since you were a child, son of Hephaestus, because I knew you could aid me at this moment. If anyone can find a way to destroy this abomination, it is you.”  
  
“But it’s not a machine. It’s like Gaea thrust her hand out of the ground and...” Leo felt dizzy. The line of their prophecy came back to him:  _Fear, fire and love shall break the cage_. “Hold on. I do have an idea. Piper, Dor, I’m going to need your help. And we’re going to need time.”  
  
The air turned brittle with cold. The temperature dropped so fast, my lips cracked even more than usual and everyone's breath changed to mist. Frost coated the walls of the Wolf House. Venti rushed in - but instead of winged men, these were shaped like horses, with dark storm-cloud bodies and manes that crackled with lightning. Some had silver arrows sticking out of their flanks. Behind them came red-eyed wolves and the six-armed Earthborn.

Piper drew her dagger. Jason grabbed an ice-covered plank off the pool floor. I grabbed my silver dagger in my left hand and summoned a throwing knife in my right. Leo reached into his tool belt, but he produced was a tin of breath mints. He shoved them back in and drew a hammer instead.  
  
One of the wolves padded forward. It was dragging a human-size statue by the leg. At the edge of the pool, the wolf opened its maw and dropped the statue for them to see - an ice sculpture of a girl, an archer with short spiky hair and a surprised look on her face.  
  
“Thalia!” "Pines!" Jason and I rushed forward, but Piper and Leo pulled us back by the arms back. The ground around Thalia’s statue was already webbed with ice.  
  
“Who did this?” Jason yelled. His body crackled with electricity. “I’ll kill you myself!”  
  
From somewhere behind the monsters, we heard a girl’s laughter, clear and cold. She stepped out of the mist in her snowy white dress, a silver crown atop her long black hair. She regarded us with those immensely cold deep brown eyes  
  
“ _Bon soir, mes amis_ ,” said Khione, the goddess of snow. She gave Leo a frosty smile. “Alas, son of Hephaestus, you say you need time? I’m afraid time is one tool you do not have.


	27. Chapter 27

**JASON**

We were surrounded by monsters. I had broken my golden sword and replaced it with a piece of wood. We had approximately five minutes until the king of the giants busted out and destroyed us. I had already pulled my biggest ace, calling down Zeus’s lightning when I’d fought Enceladus, and I doubted I’d have the strength or the cooperation from above to do it again. Which meant my only assets were one whiny imprisoned goddess, one sort-of girlfriend with a bunch of knives who could help movie stars with traumas, one sort-of ex-girlfriend with a dagger and a magic voice, and Leo, who apparently thought he could defeat the armies of darkness with breath mints.

On top of all this, my worst memories were flooding back. I knew for certain I’d done many dangerous things in my life, but I’d never been closer to death than I was right now.  
  
The enemy was beautiful. Khione smiled, her dark eyes glittering, as a dagger of ice grew in her hand.  
  
“What’ve you done?” I demanded.  
  
“Oh, so many things,” the snow goddess purred. “Your sister’s not dead, if that’s what you mean. She and her Hunters will make fine toys for our wolves. I thought we’d defrost them one at a time and hunt them down for amusement. Let them be the prey for once.”  
  
The wolves snarled appreciatively.  
  
“Yes, my dears.” Khione kept her eyes on Jason. “Your sister almost killed their king, you know. Lycaon’s off in a cave somewhere, no doubt licking his wounds, but his minions have joined us to take revenge for their master. And soon Porphyrion will arise, and we shall rule the world.”  
  
“Traitor!” Hera shouted. “You meddlesome, D-list goddess! You aren’t worthy to pour my wine, much less rule the world.”  
  
Khione sighed. “Tiresome as ever, Queen Hera. I’ve been wanting to shut you up for millennia.”  
  
Khione waved her hand, and ice encased the prison, sealing in the spaces between the earthen tendrils.  
  
“That’s better,” the snow goddess said. “Now, demigods, about your death-”  
  
“You’re the one who tricked Hera into coming here,” Jason said. “You gave Zeus the idea of closing Olympus.”  
  
The wolves snarled, and the storm spirits whinnied, ready to attack, but Khione held up her hand. “Patience, my loves. If he wants to talk, what matter? The sun is setting, and time is on our side. Of course, Jason Grace. Like snow, my voice is quiet and gentle, and very cold. It’s easy for me to whisper to the other gods, especially when I am only confirming their own deepest fears. I also whispered in Aeolus’s ear that he should issue an order to kill demigods. It is a small service for Gaea, but I’m sure I will be well rewarded when her sons the giants come to power.”  
  
“You could’ve killed us in Quebec,” Jason said. “Why let us live?”  
  
Khione wrinkled her nose. “Messy business, killing you in my father’s house, especially when he insists on meeting all visitors. I did try, you remember. It would’ve been lovely if he’d agreed to turn you to ice. But once he’d given you guarantee of safe passage, I couldn’t openly disobey him. My father is an old fool. He lives in fear of Zeus and Aeolus, but he’s still powerful. Soon enough, when my new masters have awakened, I will depose Boreas and take the throne of the North Wind, but not just yet. Besides, my father did have a point. Your quest was suicidal. I fully expected you to fail.”  
  
“And to help us with that,” Leo said, “you knocked our dragon out of the sky over Detroit. Those frozen wires in his head - that was your fault. You’re gonna pay for that.”  
  
“You’re also the one who kept Enceladus informed about us,” Piper added. “We’ve been plagued by snowstorms the whole trip.”  
  
“Yes, I feel so close to all of you now!” Khione said. “Once you made it past Omaha, I decided to asked Lycaon to track you down so Jason could die here, at the Wolf House.” Khione smiled at him. “You see, Jason, your blood spilled on this sacred ground will taint it for generations. Your demigod brethren will be outraged, especially when they find the bodies of these two from Camp Half-Blood. They’ll believe the Greeks have conspired with giants. It will be... delicious.”  
  
Piper and Leo didn’t seem to understand what she was saying. But I knew. My memories were returning enough for me to realize how dangerously effective Khione’s plan could be.  
  
“You’ll set demigods against demigods,” I said.  
  
“It’s so easy!” said Khione. “As I told you, I only encourage what you would do anyway.”  
  
“But why?” Piper spread her hands. “Khione, you’ll tear the world apart. The giants will destroy everything. You don’t want that. Call off your monsters.”  
  
Khione hesitated, then laughed. “Your persuasive powers are improving, girl. But I am a goddess. You can’t charm-speak me. We wind gods are creatures of chaos! I’ll overthrow Aeolus and let the storms run free. If we destroy the mortal world, all the better! They never honored me, even in Greek times. Humans and their talk of global warming. Pah! I’ll cool them down quickly enough. When we retake the ancient places, I will cover the Acropolis in snow.”  
  
“The ancient places.” Leo’s eyes widened. “That’s what Enceladus meant about destroy the roots of the gods. He meant Greece.”  
  
“You could join me, son of Hephaestus,” Khione said. “I know you find me beautiful. It would be enough for my plan if these other two were to die. Reject that ridiculous destiny the Fates have given you. Live and be my champion, instead. Your skills would be quite useful.”  
  
Leo looked stunned. He glanced behind him, like Khione might be talking to somebody else. For a second I was worried. I figured Leo didn’t have beautiful goddesses make him offers like this every day.  
  
Then Leo laughed so hard, he doubled over. “Yeah, join you. Right. Until you get bored of me and turn me into a Leosicle? Lady, nobody messes with my dragon and gets away with it. I can’t believe I thought you were hot.”  
  
Khione’s face turned red. “Hot? You dare insult me? I am cold, Leo Valdez. Very, very cold.”  
  
She shot a blast of wintry sleet at us, but Leo held up his hand. A wall of fire roared to life in front of us, and the snow dissolved in a steamy cloud.  
  
Leo grinned. “See, lady, that’s what happens to snow in Texas. It - freaking - melts.”  
  
Khione hissed. “Enough of this. Hera is failing. Porphyrion is rising. Kill the demigods. Let them be our king’s first meal!”  
  
I hefted my icy wooden plank - a stupid weapon to die fighting with - and the monsters charged.

A wolf launched itself at me. I stepped back and swung the scrap wood into the beast’s snout with a satisfying crack. Maybe only silver could kill it, but a good old-fashioned board could still give it a Tylenol headache.  
  
I turned toward the sound of hooves and saw a storm spirit horse bearing down on me. I concentrated and summoned the wind. Just before the spirit could trample me, I launched myself into the air, grabbed the horse’s smoky neck, and pirouetted onto its back.  
  
The storm spirit reared. It tried to shake me, then tried to dissolve into mist to lose me; but somehow I stayed on. I willed the horse to remain in solid form, and the horse seemed unable to refuse. I could feel it fighting against me. I could sense its raging thoughts - complete chaos straining to break free. It took all my willpower to impose his own wishes and bring the horse under control. I thought about Aeolus, overseeing thousands and thousands of spirits like this, some much worse. No wonder the Master of the Winds had gone a little mad after centuries of that pressure. But I had only one spirit to master, and I had to win.  
  
“You’re mine now,” I said.  
  
The horse bucked, but I held fast. Its mane flickered as it circled around the empty pool, its hooves causing miniature thunderstorms - tempests - whenever they touched.  
  
“Tempest?” I said. “Is that your name?”  
  
The horse spirit shook its mane, evidently pleased to be recognized.  
  
“Fine,” I said. “Now, let’s fight.”  
  
I charged into battle, swinging my icy piece of wood, knocking aside wolves and plunging straight through other venti. Tempest was a strong spirit, and every time he plowed through one of his brethren, he discharged so much electricity, the other spirit vaporized into a harmless cloud of mist.  
  
Through the chaos, I caught glimpses of my friends. Theo was experienced, but I'd never seen her truly fight before - she was stabbing every wolf she could in the vicinity, hurling her Stygian Iron knives at anything else that came close. I could see some of the bigger wolves - tougher than the smaller ones, no doubt - running around with their mouthes foaming, attacking the rest of their kind. Rabies.

I briefly remembered that Hera had issued the order of making Hercules mad to Lyssa so he would kill his own family, but I shrugged off the thought to fight.

Piper was surrounded by Earthborn, but she seemed to be holding her own. She was so impressive-looking as she fought, almost glowing with beauty, that the Earthborn stared at her in awe, forgetting that they were supposed to kill her. They’d lower their clubs and watch dumbfounded as she smiled and charged them. They’d smile back - until she sliced them apart with her dagger, and they melted into mounds of mud.  
  
Leo had taken on Khione herself. While fighting a goddess should’ve been suicide, Leo was the right man for the job. She kept summoning ice daggers to throw at him, blasts of winter air, tornadoes of snow. Leo burned through all of it. His whole body flickered with red tongues of flame like he’d been doused with gasoline. He advanced on the goddess, using two silver-tipped ball-peen hammers to smash any monsters that got in his way.  
  
I realized that Leo was the only reason we were still alive. His fiery aura was heating up the whole courtyard, countering Khione’s winter magic. Without him, we would’ve been frozen like the Hunters long ago. Wherever Leo went, ice melted off the stones. Even Thalia started to defrost a little when Leo stepped near her.  
  
Khione slowly backed away. Her expression went from enraged to shocked to slightly panicked as Leo got closer.

I was running out of enemies. Wolves lay in dazed heaps. Some slunk away into the ruins, yelping from their wounds. Others chased after them, eyes grey, not realizing their prey were their brethren. Piper stabbed the last Earthborn, who toppled to the ground in a pile of sludge. I rode Tempest through the last ventus, breaking it into vapor. Then I wheeled around and saw Leo bearing down on the goddess of snow.  
  
“You’re too late,” Khione snarled. “He’s awake! And don’t think you’ve won anything here, demigods. Hera’s plan will never work. You’ll be at each other’s throats before you can ever stop us.”  
  
Leo set his hammers ablaze and threw them at the goddess, but she turned into snow - a white powdery image of herself. Leo’s hammers slammed into the snow woman, breaking it into a steaming mound of mush.  
  
Piper was breathing hard, but she smiled up at me. “Nice horse.”  
  
Tempest reared on his hind legs, arcing electricity across his hooves. A complete show-off.  
  
Then I heard a cracking sound behind me. The melting ice on Hera’s cage sloughed off in a curtain of slush, and the goddess called, “Oh, don’t mind me! Just the queen of the heavens, dying over here!”  
  
I dismounted and told Tempest to stay put. The four of us jumped into the pool and ran to the spire.  
  
Leo frowned. “Uh, Tía Callida, are you getting shorter?”  
  
“No, you dolt! The earth is claiming me. Hurry!”  
  
As much as I disliked Hera, what I saw inside the cage alarmed me. Not only was Hera sinking, the ground was rising around her like water in a tank. Liquid rock had already covered her shins. “The giant wakes!” Hera warned. “You only have seconds!”  
  
“On it,” Leo said. “Piper, Dor, I need your help. Piper, you have to talk to the cage.”  
  
“What?” Piper said.  
  
“Talk to it. Use everything you’ve got. Convince Gaea to sleep. Lull her into a daze. Just slow her down, try to get the tendrils to loosen. Dor, you need to make sure it's gonna be one heck of a nightmare - the kind you can barely force yourself to wake up from. Any trauma and any fear you can find: use it.”

Theo nodded and put both of her hands on a tendril. Grey energy swirled around her hands, going up her arms to her torso. After a few seconds, I couldn't see her hands at all anymore. She nodded at Piper and closed her eyes in anticipation.  
  
“Right!” Piper cleared her throat and said, “Hey, Gaea. Nice night, huh? Boy, I’m tired. How about you? Ready for some sleep? You have to be tired from all that you've been through, haven't you?”  
  
The more she talked, the more confident she sounded. I felt my own eyes getting heavy, and had to force myself not to focus on her words. It seemed to have some effect on the cage. The mud was rising more slowly. The tendrils seemed to soften just a little - becoming more like tree root than rock. Leo pulled a circular saw out of his tool belt. How it fit in there, I had no idea. Then Leo looked at the cord and grunted in frustration. “I don’t have anywhere to plug it in!”  
  
The spirit horse Tempest jumped into the pit and whinnied.  
  
“Really?” I asked.  
  
Tempest dipped his head and trotted over to Leo. Leo looked dubious, but he held up the plug, and a breeze whisked it into the horse’s flank. Lighting sparked, connecting with the prongs of the plug, and the circular saw whirred to life.  
  
“Sweet!” Leo grinned. “Your horse comes with AC outlets!”  
  
Our good mood didn’t last long. On the other side of the pool, the giant’s spire crumbled with a sound like a tree snapping in half. Its outer sheath of tendrils exploded from the top down, raining stone and wood shards as the giant shook himself free and climbed out of the earth.  
  
I hadn’t thought anything could be scarier than Enceladus.  
  
I was wrong.  
  
Porphyrion was even taller, and even more ripped. He didn’t radiate heat, or show any signs of breathing fire, but there was something more terrible about him - a kind of strength, even magnetism, as if the giant were so huge and dense he had his own gravitational field.  
  
Like Enceladus, the giant king was humanoid from the waist up, clad in bronze armor, and from the waist down he had scaly dragon’s legs; but his skin was the color of lima beans. His hair was green as summer leaves, braided in long locks and decorated with weapons - daggers, axes, and full-size swords, some of them bent and bloody - maybe trophies taken from demigods eons before. When the giant opened his eyes, they were blank white, like polished marble. He took a deep breath.  
  
“Alive!” he bellowed. “Praise to Gaea!”  
  
I made a heroic little whimpering sound that I hoped my friends couldn’t hear. I was very sure no demigod could solo this guy. Porphyrion could lift mountains. He could crush me with one finger.  
  
“Leo,” I said.  
  
“Huh?” Leo’s mouth was wide open. Theo looked at me with wide eyes, breathing even harder than usual. Even Piper seemed dazed.  
  
“You guys keep working,” I said. “Get Hera free!”  
  
“What are you going to do?” Piper asked. “You can’t seriously-”  
  
“Entertain a giant?” Jason said. “I’ve got no choice.”

“Excellent!” the giant roared as I approached. “An appetizer! Who are you - Hermes? Ares?”  
  
I thought about going with that idea, but something told me not to.  
  
“I’m Jason Grace,” I said. “Son of Jupiter.”  
  
Those white eyes bored into me. Behind me, Leo’s circular saw whirred, and Piper talked to the cage in soothing tones, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.  
  
Porphyrion threw back his head and laughed. “Outstanding!” He looked up at the cloudy night sky. “So, Zeus, you sacrifice a son to me? The gesture is appreciated, but it will not save you.”  
  
The sky didn’t even rumble. No help from above. I was on my own.  
  
I dropped the makeshift club. My hands were covered in splinters, but that didn’t matter now. I had to buy the others some time, and I couldn’t do that without a proper weapon.  
  
It was time to act a whole lot more confident than I felt.  
  
“If you knew who I was,” I yelled up at the giant, “you’d be worried about me, not my father. I hope you enjoyed your two and a half minutes of rebirth, giant, because I’m going to send you right back to Tartarus.”  
  
The giant’s eyes narrowed. He planted one foot outside the pool and crouched to get a better look at his opponent. “So... we’ll start by boasting, will we? Just like old times! Very well, demigod. I am Porphyrion, king of the giants, son of Gaea. In olden times, I rose from Tartarus, the abyss of my father, to challenge the gods. To start the war, I stole Zeus’s queen.” He grinned at the goddess’s cage. “Hello, Hera.”  
  
“My husband destroyed you once, monster!” Hera said. “He’ll do it again!”  
  
“But he didn’t, my dear! Zeus wasn’t powerful enough to kill me. He had to rely on a puny demigod to help, and even then, we almost won. This time, we will complete what we started. Gaea is waking. She has provisioned us with many fine servants. Our armies will shake the earth - and we will destroy you at the roots.”  
  
“You wouldn’t dare,” Hera said, but she was weakening. I could hear it in her voice. Piper kept whispering to the cage, Theo kept her hands on it, and Leo kept sawing, but the earth was still rising inside Hera’s prison, covering her up to her waist.  
  
“Oh, yes,” the giant said. “The Titans sought to attack your new home in New York. Bold, but ineffective. Gaea is wiser and more patient. And we, her greatest children, are much, much stronger than Kronos. We know how to kill you Olympians once and for all. You must be dug up completely like rotten trees - your eldest roots torn out and burned.”  
  
The giant frowned at Theo, Piper and Leo, as if he’d just noticed them working at the cage. I stepped forward and yelled to get back Porphyrion’s attention.  
  
“You said a demigod killed you,” I shouted. “How, if we’re so puny?”  
  
“Ha! You think I would explain it to you? I was created to be Zeus’s replacement, born to destroy the lord of the sky. I shall take his throne. I shall take his wife - or, if she will not have me, I will let the earth consume her life force. What you see before you, child, is only my weakened form. I will grow stronger by the hour, until I am invincible. But I am already quite capable of smashing you to a grease spot!”  
  
He rose to his full height and held out his hand. A twenty-foot spear shot from the earth. He grasped it, then stomped the ground with his dragon’s feet. The ruins shook. All around the courtyard, monsters started to regather - storm spirits, wolves, and Earthborn, all answering the giant king’s call.  
  
“Great,” Leo muttered. “We needed more enemies.”  
  
“Hurry,” Hera said.  
  
“I know!” Leo snapped.  
  
“Go to sleep, cage,” Piper said. “Nice, sleepy cage. Yes, I’m talking to a bunch of earthen tendrils. This isn’t weird at all.”  
  
Porphyrion raked his spear across the top of the ruins, destroying a chimney and spraying wood and stone across the courtyard. “So, child of Zeus! I have finished my boasting. Now it’s your turn. What were you saying about destroying me?”  
  
I looked at the ring of monsters, waiting impatiently for their master’s order to tear them to shreds. Leo’s circular saw kept whirring, and Piper kept talking, but it seemed hopeless. Hera’s cage was almost completely filled with earth.  
  
“I’m the son of Jupiter!” I shouted, and just for effect, I summoned the winds, rising a few feet off the ground. “I’m a child of Rome, consul to demigods, praetor of the First Legion.” I didn’t know quite what I was saying, but I rattled off the words like I’d said them many times before. I held out my arms, showing the tattoo of the eagle and SPQR, and to my surprise the giant seemed to recognize it.  
  
For a moment, Porphyrion actually looked uneasy.  
  
“I slew the Trojan sea monster,” I continued. “I toppled the black throne of Kronos, and destroyed the Titan Krios with my own hands. And now I’m going to destroy you, Porphyrion, and feed you to your own wolves.”  
  
“Wow, dude,” Leo muttered. “You been eating red meat?”  
  
I launched myself at the giant, determined to tear him apart.  
  
The idea of fighting a forty-foot-tall immortal bare handed was so ridiculous, even the giant seemed surprised. Half flying, half leaping, I landed on the giant’s scaly reptilian knee and climbed up the giant’s arm before Porphyrion even realized what had happened.  
  
“You dare?” the giant bellowed.  
  
I reached his shoulders and ripped a sword out of the giant’s weapon-filled braids. I yelled, “For Rome!” and drove the sword into the nearest convenient target - the giant’s massive ear.  
  
Lightning streaked out of the sky and blasted the sword, throwing me free. I rolled when I hit the ground. When I looked up, the giant was staggering. His hair was on fire, and the side of his face was blackened from lightning. The sword had splintered in his ear. Golden ichor ran down his jaw. The other weapons were sparking and smoldering in his braids.  
  
Porphyrion almost fell. The circle of monsters let out a collective growl and moved forward - wolves and ogres fixing their eyes on me.  
  
“No!” Porphyrion yelled. He regained his balance and glared at me. “I will kill him myself.”  
  
The giant raised his spear and it began to glow. “You want to play with lightning, boy? You forget. I am the bane of Zeus. I was created to destroy your father, which means I know exactly what will kill you.”

Something in Porphyrion’s voice told me he wasn’t bluffing.  
  
My friends and I had had a good run. The four of us had done amazing things. Yeah, even heroic things. But as the giant raised his spear, I knew there was no way I could deflect this strike.  
  
This was the end.  
  
“Almost got it!” Leo yelled.  
  
“Sleep!” Piper said, so forcefully, the nearest wolves fell to the ground and began snoring. Theo let out something between a loud groan and a soft yell as Piper spoke, and I could see her shaking with power even from here.  
  
The stone and wood cage crumbled. Leo had sawed through the base of the thickest tendril and apparently cut off the cage’s connection to Gaea. The tendrils turned to dust. The mud around Hera disintegrated. The goddess grew in size, glowing with power.  
  
“Yes!” the goddess said. She threw off her black robes to reveal a white gown, her arms bedecked with golden jewelry. Her face was both terrible and beautiful, and a golden crown glowed in her long black hair. “Now I shall have my revenge!”  
  
The giant Porphyrion backed away. He said nothing, but he gave me one last look of hatred. His message was clear: _Another time_. Then he slammed his spear against the earth, and the giant disappeared into the ground like he’d dropped down a chute.  
  
Around the courtyard, monsters began to panic and retreat, but there was no escape for them.  
  
Hera glowed brighter. She shouted, “Cover your eyes, my heroes!”  
  
But I was too much in shock. I understood too late.  
  
I watched as Hera turned into a supernova, exploding in a ring of force that vaporized every monster instantly. I fell, light searing into my mind, and my last thought was that my body was burning.


	28. Chapter 28

**THEODORA**  
  
"Jason!" Piper kept calling his name as I held him, though I’d almost lost hope. He’d been unconscious for two minutes now. His body was steaming, his eyes rolled back in his head. I couldn’t tell if he was even breathing.  
  
“It’s no use, child.” Hera stood over us in her simple black robes and shawl.  
  
I hadn’t seen the goddess go nuclear. I knew the drill.

None of the monsters had survived, and the ruins had been returned to what they must've looked like before the attack started.  
  
Even the Hunters had been revived. Most waited at a respectful distance in the meadow, but Thalia knelt by our side, her hand on Jason’s forehead.  
  
Thalia glared up at the goddess. “This is your fault. Do something!”  
  
“Do not address me that way, girl. I am the queen-”  
  
“Fix him!” My voice cracked as I yelled at the most powerful being in the nearby area.  
  
Hera’s eyes flickered with power. “I did warn him. I would never intentionally hurt the boy. He was to be my champion. I told them to close their eyes before I revealed my true form.”  
  
“Um...” Leo frowned. “True form is bad, right? So why did you do it?”  
  
“I unleashed my power to help you, fool!” Hera cried. “I became pure energy so I could disintegrate the monsters, restore this place, and even save these miserable Hunters from the ice.”  
  
“But mortals can’t look upon you in that form!” Thalia shouted. “You’ve killed him!”  
  
Leo shook his head in dismay. “That’s what our prophecy meant. _Death unleash, through Hera’s rage._ Come on, lady. You’re a goddess. Do some voodoo magic on him! Bring him back.”  
  
I half heard the rest of the conversation, but mostly I was focused on Jason’s face. “He’s breathing!” I announced.  
  
“Impossible,” Hera said. “I wish it were true, child, but no mortal has ever-”  
  
“Jason,” Piper called, putting every bit of her willpower into his name. We could not lose him. “Listen to me. You can do this. Come back. You’re going to be fine.”  
  
Nothing happened. Had I imagined his breath stirring?  
  
“Healing is not a power of Aphrodite,” Hera said regretfully. “Even I cannot fix this, girl. His mortal spirit-”  
  
“Jason,” Piper said again. “Wake up.”  
  
He gasped, and his eyes flew open. For a moment they were full of light - glowing pure gold. Then the light faded and his eyes were normal again. “What - what happened?”  
  
“Impossible!” Hera said.  
  
I kissed his forehead and wrapped him in a hug until he groaned, “Crushing me.”  
  
“Sorry,” I said, so relieved, and Piper laughed while wiping a tear from her eye.  
  
Thalia gripped her brother’s hand. “How do you feel?”  
  
“Hot,” he muttered. “Mouth is dry. And I saw something... really terrible.”  
  
“That was Hera,” Thalia grumbled. “Her Majesty, the Loose Cannon.”  
  
“That’s it, Thalia Grace,” said the goddess. “I will turn you into an aardvark, so help me-”  
  
“Stop it, you two,” Piper said. Amazingly, they both shut up.  
  
I helped Jason to his feet and gave him the last nectar from our supplies.  
  
“Now...” Piper faced Thalia and Hera. “Hera - Your Majesty - we couldn’t have rescued you without the Hunters. And Thalia, you never would’ve seen Jason again - the three of us wouldn’t have met him - if it weren’t for Hera. You two make nice, because we’ve got bigger problems.”  
  
They both glared at her, and for three long seconds, I thought Piper would be the bajillionth person to die at the rage of Hera.  
  
Finally Thalia smiled. “You’ve got spirit, Piper.” She pulled a silver card from her parka and tucked it into the pocket of Piper’s snowboarding jacket with a wink. I caught her eye and smiled knowingly, to which she quickly stuck her tongue out at me before turning back to Piper. “You ever want to be a Hunter, call me. We could use you.”  
  
Hera crossed her arms. “Fortunately for _this_ Hunter, you have a point, daughter of Aphrodite.” She assessed Piper, as if seeing her clearly for the time. “You wondered, Piper, why I chose you for this quest, why I didn’t reveal your secret in the beginning, even when I knew Enceladus was using you. I must admit, until this moment I was not sure. Something told me you would be vital to the quest. Now I see I was right. You’re even stronger than I realized. And you are correct about the dangers to come. We must work together.”

Leo stepped in.  
  
“Yeah,” he said, “I don’t suppose that Porphyrion guy just melted and died, huh?”  
  
“No,” Hera agreed. “By saving me, and saving this place, you prevented Gaea from waking. You have bought us some time. But Porphyrion has risen. He simply knew better than to stay here, especially since he has not yet regained his full power. Giants can only be killed by a combination of god and demigod, working together. Once you freed me-”  
  
“He ran away,” Jason said. “But to where?”  
  
Hera didn’t answer, but a sense of dread washed over me. I remembered what Porphyrion had said about killing the Olympians by pulling up their roots. Greece. I looked at Thalia’s grim expression, and guessed the Hunter had come to the same conclusion.  
  
“We need to find Annabeth,” Thalia said. “She has to know what’s happened here.”  
  
“Thalia...” Jason gripped her hand. “We never got to talk about this place, or-”  
  
“I know.” Her expression softened. “I lost you here once. I don’t want to leave you again. But we’ll meet soon. I’ll rendezvous with you back at Camp Half-Blood.” She glanced at Hera. “You’ll see them there safely? It’s the least you can do.”  
  
“It’s not your place to tell me-”  
  
“Queen Hera,” Piper interceded.  
  
The goddess sighed. “Fine. Yes. Just off with you, Hunter!”  
  
Thalia gave Jason and me a hug and said her good-byes. When the Hunters were gone, the courtyard seemed strangely quiet. The dry reflecting pool showed no sign of the earthen tendrils that had brought back the giant king or imprisoned Hera. The night sky was clear and starry. The wind rustled in the redwoods.  
  
“Jason, what happened to you here?” Piper asked. “I mean - I know your mom abandoned you here. But you said it was sacred ground for demigods. Why? What happened after you were on your own?”  
  
Jason shook his head uneasily. “It’s still murky. The wolves...”  
  
“You were given a destiny,” Hera said. “You were given into my service.”  
  
Jason scowled. “Because you forced my mom to do that. You couldn’t stand knowing Zeus had two children with my mom. Knowing that he’d fallen for her twice. I was the price you demanded for leaving the rest of my family alone. ”  
  
“It was the right choice for you as well, Jason,” Hera insisted. “The second time your mother managed to snare Zeus’s affections, it was because she imagined him in a different aspect - the aspect of Jupiter. Never before had this happened - two children, Greek and Roman, born into the same family. You had to be separated from Thalia. This is where all demigods of your kind start their journey.”  
  
“Of his kind?” Piper asked.  
  
“She means Roman,” Jason said. “Demigods are left here. We meet the she-wolf goddess, Lupa, the same immortal wolf that raised Romulus and Remus.”  
  
Hera nodded. “And if you are strong enough, you live.”  
  
“But...” Leo looked mystified. “What happened after that? I mean, Jason never made it to camp.”  
  
“Not to Camp Half-Blood, no,” Hera agreed.

“You went somewhere else. That’s where you’ve been all these years. Somewhere else for demigods - but where?”  
  
Jason turned to the goddess. “The memories are coming back, but not the location. You’re not going to tell me, are you?”  
  
“No,” Hera said. “That is part of your destiny, Jason. You must find your own way back. But when you do... you will unite two great powers. You will give us hope against the giants, and more importantly - against Gaea herself.”  
  
“You want us to help you,” Jason said, “but you’re holding back information.”  
  
“Giving you answers would make those answers invalid,” Hera said. “That is the way of the Fates. You must forge your own path for it to mean anything. Already, you three have surprised me. I would not have thought it possible...”  
  
The goddess shook her head. “Suffice to say, you have performed well, demigods. But this is only the beginning. Now you must return to Camp Half-Blood, where you will begin planning for the next phase.”  
  
“Which you won’t tell us about,” Jason grumped. “And I suppose you destroyed my nice storm spirit horse, so we’ll have to walk home?”

Hera waved aside the question. “Storm spirits are creatures of chaos. I did not destroy that one, though I have no idea where he went, or whether you’ll see him again. But there is an easier way home for you. As you have done me a great service, so I can help you - at least this once. Farewell, demigods, for now.”  
  
The world turned upside down, and I almost blacked out.  
  
When I could see straight again, I was back at home, in the dining pavilion, in the middle of dinner. We were standing on the Aphrodite cabin’s table, and Piper had one foot in Drew’s pizza. Sixty campers rose at once, gawking at them in astonishment.  
  
Whatever Hera had done to shoot them across the country, it wasn’t good for the stomach. I could barely control my nausea. Leo wasn’t so lucky. He jumped off the table, ran to the nearest bronze brazier, and threw up in it - which was probably not a great burnt offering for the gods.  
  
“Jason? Theodora?” Chiron trotted forward. No doubt the old centaur had seen thousands of years’ worth of weird stuff, but even he looked totally flabbergasted. “What-How-?”  
  
The Aphrodite campers stared up at us with their mouths open. I figured we must look awful.  
  
“Hi,” Piper said casually. “We’re back.”


	29. Chapter 29

**PIPER**

The next morning I woke in my bunk, feeling reinvigorated. The sun came through the windows along with a pleasant breeze. It might’ve been spring instead of winter. Birds sang. Monsters howled in the woods. Breakfast smells wafted from the dining pavilion - eggs, pancakes, and all sorts of wonderful things.  
  
Drew and her gang were frowning down at me, their arms crossed.  
  
“Morning.” I sat up and smiled. “Beautiful day.”  
  
“You’re going to make us late for breakfast,” Drew said, “which means you get to clean the cabin for inspection.”  
  
A week ago, I would’ve either punched Drew in the face, or hidden back under her covers. Now I thought about the Cyclopes in Detroit, Medea in Chicago, Midas turning me to gold in Omaha. Looking at Drew, who used to bother me, I laughed.  
  
Drew’s smug expression crumbled. She backed up, then remembered she was supposed to be angry. “What are you-”  
  
“Challenging you,” I said. “How about noon in the arena? You can choose the weapons.”  
  
I got out of bed, stretched leisurely, and beamed at my cabinmates. I spotted Mitchell and Lacy, who’d helped her pack for the quest. They were smiling tentatively, their eyes flitting from me to Drew like this might be a very interesting tennis game.  
  
“I missed you guys!” I announced. “We’re going to have a great time when I’m senior counselor.”  
  
Drew turned bug juice red. Even her closest lieutenants looked a little nervous. This wasn’t in their script.  
  
“You-” Drew spluttered. “You ugly little witch! I’ve been here the longest. You can’t just-”  
  
“Challenge you?” I said. “Sure, I can. Camp rules: I’ve been claimed by Aphrodite. I’ve completed a quest, which is one more than you’ve completed. If I feel I can do a better job, I can challenge you. Unless you just want to step down. Did I get all that right, Mitchell?”  
  
“Just right, Piper.” Mitchell was grinning. Lacy was bouncing up and down like she was trying to achieve liftoff.  
  
A few of the other kids started to grin, as if they were enjoying the different colors Drew’s face was turning.  
  
“Step down?” Drew shrieked. “You’re crazy!”  
  
I shrugged. Then fast as a viper I pulled Katoptris from under my pillow, unsheathed the dagger, and thrust the point under Drew’s chin. Everybody else backed up fast. One guy crashed into a makeup table and sent up a plume of pink powder.  
  
“A duel, then,” I said cheerfully. “If you don’t want to wait until noon, now is fine. You’ve turned this cabin into a dictatorship, Drew. Silena Beauregard knew better than that. Aphrodite is about love and beauty. Being loving. Spreading beauty. Good friends. Good times. Good deeds. Not just looking good. Silena made mistakes, but in the end she stood by her friends. That’s why she was a hero. I’m going to set things right, and I’ve got a feeling Mom will be on my side. Want to find out?”  
  
Drew went cross-eyed looking down the blade of my dagger.  
  
A second passed. Then two. I didn’t care. I was absolutely happy and confident. It must’ve shown in my smile.  
  
“I... step down,” Drew grumbled. “But if you think I’m ever going to forget this, McLean-”  
  
“Oh, I hope you won’t,” I said. “Now, run along to the dining pavilion, and explain to Chiron why we’re late. There’s been a change of leadership.”  
  
Drew backed to the door. Even her closest lieutenants didn’t follow her. She was about to leave when I said, “Oh, and Drew, honey?”  
  
The former counselor looked back reluctantly.  
  
“In case you think I’m not a true daughter of Aphrodite,” I said, “don’t even look at Jason Grace. I know you're interested. He may not know it yet, but he’s Theodora's, and I will not let you attempt to deny my friend of love. If you even try to make a move, I will load you into a catapult and shoot you across Long Island Sound.”  
  
Drew turned around so fast, she ran into the doorframe. Then she was gone.  
  
The cabin was silent. The other campers stared at me. This was the part I was unsure of. I didn’t want to rule by fear. I wasn’t like Drew, but I didn’t know if they’d accept me.  
  
Then, spontaneously, the Aphrodite campers cheered so loudly, they must’ve been heard all across camp. They herded me out of the cabin, raised me on their shoulders, and carried me all the way to the dining pavilion - still in my pajamas, my hair still a mess, but I didn’t care. I’d never felt better.  
  
By afternoon, I had changed into comfortable camp clothes and led the Aphrodite cabin through their morning activities. I was ready for free time.  
  
Some of the buzz of her victory had faded because I had an appointment at the Big House.  
  
Chiron met me on the front porch in human form, compacted into his wheelchair. “Come inside, my dear. The video conference is ready.”  
  
The only computer at camp was in Chiron’s office, and the whole room was shielded in bronze plating.  
  
“Demigods and technology don’t mix,” Chiron explained. “Phone calls, texting, even browsing the Internet - all these things can attract monsters. Why, just this fall at a school in Cincinnati, we had to rescue a young hero who Googled the gorgons and got a little more than he bargained for, but never mind that. Here at camp, you’re protected. Still... we try to be cautious. You’ll only be able to talk for a few minutes.”  
  
“Got it,” I said. “Thank you, Chiron.”  
  
He smiled and wheeled himself out of the office. I hesitated before clicking the call button. Chiron’s office had a cluttered, cozy feel. One wall was covered with T-shirts from different conventions - party ponies ’09 Vegas, party ponies ’10 Honolulu, et cetera. I didn’t know who the Party Ponies were, but judging from the stains, scorch marks, and weapon holes in the T-shirts, they must’ve had some pretty wild meetings. On the shelf over Chiron’s desk sat an old-fashioned boom box with cassette tapes labeled “Dean Martin” and “Frank Sinatra” and “Greatest Hits of the 40s.” Chiron was so old, I wondered if that meant 1940s, 1840s, or maybe just A.D. 40.  
  
But most of the office’s wall space was plastered with photos of demigods, like a hall of fame. One of the newer shots showed a teenage guy with dark hair and green eyes. Since he stood arm in arm with Annabeth, I assumed the guy must be Percy Jackson. In some of the older photos, I recognized famous people: businessmen, athletes, even some actors that her dad knew.  
  
“Unbelievable,” I muttered.  
  
I wondered if my photo would go on that wall someday. For the first time, I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself. Demigods had been around for centuries. Whatever I did, I did for all of them.  
  
I took a deep breath and made the call. The video screen popped up.  
  
Gleeson Hedge grinned at her from her dad’s office. “Seen the news?”  
  
“Kind of hard to miss,” I said. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”  
  
Chiron had shown me a newspaper at lunch. Her dad’s mysterious return from nowhere had made the front page. His personal assistant Jane had been fired for covering up his disappearance and failing to notify the police. A new staff had been hired and personally vetted by Tristan McLean’s “life coach,” Gleeson Hedge. According to the paper, Mr. McLean claimed to have no memory of the last week, and the media was totally eating up the story. Some thought it was a clever marketing ploy for a movie - maybe McLean was going to play an amnesiac? Some thought he’d been kidnapped by terrorists, or rabid fans, or had heroically escaped from ransom seekers using his incredible King of Sparta fighting skills. Whatever the truth, Tristan McLean was more famous than ever.  
  
“It’s going great,” Hedge promised. “But don’t worry. We’re going to keep him out of the public eye for the next month or so until things cool down. Your dad’s got more important things to do - like resting, and talking to his daughter.”  
  
“Don’t get too comfortable out there in Hollywood, Gleeson,” I said.  
  
Hedge snorted. “You kidding? These people make Aeolus look sane. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but your dad’s gotta get back on his feet first. He’s a good guy. Oh, and by the way, I took care of that other little matter. The Park Service in the Bay Area just got an anonymous gift of a new helicopter. And that ranger pilot who helped us? She’s got a very lucrative offer to fly for Mr. McLean.”  
  
“Thanks, Gleeson,” I said. “For everything.”  
  
“Yeah, well. I don’t try to be awesome. It just comes natural. Speaking of Aeolus’s place, meet your dad’s new assistant.”  
  
Hedge was nudged out of the way, and a pretty young lady grinned into the camera.  
  
“Mellie?” I stared, but it was definitely her: the aura who’d helped us escape from Aeolus’s fortress. “You’re working for my dad now?”  
  
“Isn’t it great?”  
  
“Does he know you’re a - you know - wind spirit?”  
  
“Oh, no. But I love this job. It’s - um - a breeze.”  
  
Piper couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m glad. That’s awesome. But where-”  
  
“Just a sec.” Mellie kissed Gleeson on the cheek. “Come on, you old goat. Stop hogging the screen.”

“What?” Hedge demanded. But Mellie steered him away and called, “Mr. McLean? She’s on!”  
  
A second later, my dad appeared.  
  
He broke into a huge grin. “Pipes!”  
  
He looked great - back to normal, with his sparkling brown eyes, his half-day beard, his confident smile, and his newly trimmed hair like he was ready to shoot a scene. I was relieved, but also felt a little sad. Back to normal wasn’t necessarily what I’d wanted.  
  
In my mind, I started the clock. On a normal call like this, on a workday, I hardly ever got my dad’s attention for longer than thirty seconds.  
  
“Hey,” I said weakly. “You feeling okay?”  
  
“Honey, I’m so sorry to worry you with this disappearance business. I don’t know...” His smile wavered, and she could tell he was trying to remember - grasping for a memory that should have been there, but wasn’t. “I’m not sure what happened, honestly. But I’m fine. Coach Hedge has been a godsend.”  
  
“A godsend,” I repeated. Funny choice of words.  
  
“He told me about your new school,” Dad said. “I’m sorry the Wilderness School didn’t work out, but you were right. Jane was wrong. I was a fool to listen to her.”  
  
Ten seconds left, maybe. But at least my dad sounded sincere, like he really did feel remorseful.  
  
“You don’t remember anything?” I said, a bit wistfully.  
  
“Of course I do,” he said.  
  
A chill went down my neck. “You do?”  
  
“I remember that I love you,” he said. “And I’m proud of you. Are you happy at your new school?”  
  
I blinked. I wasn’t going to cry now. After all I’d been through, that would be ridiculous. “Yeah, Dad. It’s more like a camp, not a school, but... Yeah, I think I’ll be happy here.”  
  
“Call me as often as you can,” he said. “And come home for Christmas. And Pipes...”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
He touched the screen as if trying to reach through with his hand. “You’re a wonderful young lady. I don’t tell you that often enough. You remind me so much of your mother. She’d be proud. And Grandpa Tom” - he chuckled - “he always said you’d be the most powerful voice in our family. You’re going to outshine me some day, you know. They’re going to remember me as Piper McLean’s father, and that’s the best legacy I can imagine.”  
  
I tried to answer, but I was afraid to break down. I just touched his fingers on the screen and nodded.  
  
Mellie said something in the background, and my dad sighed. “Studio calling. I’m sorry, honey.” And he did sound genuinely annoyed to go.  
  
“It’s okay, Dad,” I managed. “Love you.”  
  
He winked. Then the video call went black.  
  
Forty-five seconds? Maybe a full minute.  
  
I smiled. A small improvement, but it was progress.


	30. Chapter 30

**THEODORA**

At the commons area, I found Jason relaxing on a bench, a basketball between his feet. He was sweaty from working out, but he looked great in his orange tank top and shorts. His various scars and bruises from the quest were healing, thanks to some medical attention from the Apollo cabin. His close-cropped blond hair caught the afternoon light so it looked like it was turning to gold, Midas style.  
  
“Hey Theo,” he said lightly, and I felt my nose scrunch up at the nickname - a habit I just couldn't seem to shake. “Where have you been all day?"  
  
“I visited a friend of mine. Actually, he's more of a little brother to me. I got some tips on shadow-travelling from him, I need more practice at it. He agreed to help me.” I left out the part where after I'd met up with Nico, I'd run into Piper and talked about the Hunters. She seemed very interested in Thalia, but told me she wouldn't join the hunt - we had a prophecy to fulfill.  
  
I sat next to him and we watched the campers going back and forth. A couple of Demeter girls were playing tricks on two of the Apollo guys - making grass grow around their ankles as they shot baskets. Over at the camp store, the Hermes kids were putting up a sign that read: _flying shoes, slightly used, 50% off today_! Ares kids were lining their cabin with fresh barbed wire. The Hypnos cabin was snoring away. A normal day at camp.  
  
Meanwhile, the Aphrodite kids were watching me and Jason, and trying to pretend they weren’t. I was pretty sure I saw money change hands, like they were placing bets on a kiss.  
  
“Get any sleep?” I asked him.  
  
He looked at me as if I’d been reading his thoughts. “Not much. Dreams.”  
  
“About your past?”  
  
He nodded.  
  
I didn’t push him. If he wanted to talk, that was fine, but I knew him better than to press the subject.

Jason spun the basketball. “It’s not good news,” he warned. “My memories aren’t good for - for any of us.”  
  
“We’ll figure it out,” I promised.  
  
He looked at me hesitantly, like he wanted very much to believe me. “Annabeth and Rachel are coming in for the meeting tonight. I should probably wait until then to explain...”  
  
“Okay.” I picked at my Camp Half-Blood shirt. I'd rolled up the bottom and tied it up, due to the weather being so hot, and my lower back was showing because of it - scars out. I noticed Jason staring at them.

"Titan war. Got backstabbed - literally. Well, more like slashed, but you get the point." I knew he could tell there was more to the story, but he nodded and let it go.  
  
We both sat back and studied each other for a moment. His forearm tattoo was faint blue in the sunlight. “You’re in a good mood. How can you be so sure things will work out?”  
  
“Because you’re going to lead us,” I said simply. “I’d follow you anywhere.”  
  
Jason blinked. Then slowly, he smiled. “Crazy thing to say.”  
  
“I’m a crazy girl.”  
  
“That, I believe.”

We smiled at each other for a few seconds. Then, he got up and brushed off his shorts. He offered me a hand. “Leo says he’s got something to show us out in the woods. You coming?”  
  
“Wouldn’t miss it.” I took his hand and stood up.  
  
For a moment, we kept holding hands. Jason tilted his head. “We should get going.”  
  
“Yeah,” I said.  
  
Across the green, Piper's cabinmates looking disappointed that they hadn’t witnessed a kiss. They started cashing in their bets.  
  
“Let’s go,” I told Jason. “We’ve got adventures to plan.”

* * * * *

When we got to the limestone cliff in the forest, Leo turned to the group and smiled, though I cold feel the nerves radiating off of him. “Here we go.”  
  
He willed his hand to catch fire, and set it against the door.  
  
His cabinmates gasped.  
  
“Leo!” Nyssa cried. “You’re a fire user!”  
  
“Yeah, thanks,” he said. “I know.”  
  
Jake Mason, who was out of his body cast but still on crutches, said, “Holy Hephaestus. That means - it’s so rare that-”  
  
The massive stone door swung open, and everyone’s mouth dropped. Leo’s flaming hand seemed insignificant now. Even Piper, Jason and I looked stunned, and we’d seen enough amazing things lately.  
  
Only Chiron didn’t look surprised. The centaur knit his bushy eyebrows and stroked his beard, as if the group was about to walk through a minefield.  
  
That made me a little nervous.  
  
“Welcome to Bunker Nine,” Leo said. “C’mon in.”  
  
The group was silent as we toured the facility.

I immediately stalked over to Festus's head on the central table.  
  
Leo followed me and stroked the dragon’s forehead. “I’m sorry, Festus. But I won’t forget you.”  
  
Jason put a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Hephaestus brought it here for you?”  
  
Leo nodded.  
  
“But you can’t repair him,” Jason guessed.  
  
“No way,” Leo said. “But the head is going to be reused. Festus will be going with us.”  
  
Piper came over and frowned. “What do you mean?”  
  
Before Leo could answer, Nyssa cried out, “Guys, look at this!”  
  
She was standing at one of the worktables, flipping through a sketchbook - diagrams for hundreds of different machines and weapons.  
  
“I’ve never seen anything like these,” Nyssa said. “There are more amazing ideas here than in Daedalus’s workshop. It would take a century just to prototype them all.”  
  
“Who built this place?” Jake Mason said. “And why?”  
  
Chiron stayed silent, but Leo focused on the wall map he’d seen during his first visit. It showed Camp Half-Blood with a line of triremes in the Sound, catapults mounted in the hills around the valley, and spots marked for traps, trenches, and ambush sites.  
  
“It’s a wartime command center,” he said. “The camp was attacked once, wasn’t it?”  
  
“In the Titan War?” Piper asked.  
  
Nyssa shook her head. “No. Besides, that map looks really old. The date... does that say 1864?”  
  
We all turned to Chiron.  
  
The centaur’s tail swished fretfully. “This camp has been attacked many times,” he admitted. “That map is from the last Civil War.”  
  
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one confused. The other Hephaestus campers looked at each other and frowned.  
  
“Civil War...” Piper said. “You mean the American Civil War, like a hundred and fifty years ago?”  
  
“Yes and no,” Chiron said. “The two conflicts - mortal and demigod - mirrored each other, as they usually do in Western history. Look at any civil war or revolution from the fall of Rome onward, and it marks a time when demigods also fought one another. But that Civil War was particularly horrible. For American mortals, it is still their bloodiest conflict of all time - worse than their casualties in the two World Wars. For demigods, it was equally devastating. Even back then, this valley was Camp Half-Blood. There was a horrible battle in these woods lasting for days, with terrible losses on both sides.”  
  
“Both sides,” Leo said. “You mean the camp split apart?”  
  
“No,” Jason spoke up. “He means two different groups. Camp Half-Blood was one side in the war.”

“Who was the other?”  
  
Chiron glanced up at the tattered bunker 9 banner, as if remembering the day it was raised.  
  
“The answer is dangerous,” he warned. “It is something I swore upon the River Styx never to speak of. After the American Civil War, the gods were so horrified by the toll it took on their children, that they swore it would never happen again. The two groups were separated. The gods bent all their will, wove the Mist as tightly as they could, to make sure the enemies never remembered each other, never met on their quests, so that bloodshed could be avoided. This map is from the final dark days of 1864, the last time the two groups fought. We’ve had several close calls since then. The nineteen sixties were particularly dicey. But we’ve managed to avoid another civil war - at least so far. Just as Leo guessed, this bunker was a command center for the Hephaestus cabin. In the last century, it has been reopened a few times, usually as a hiding place in times of great unrest. But coming here is dangerous. It stirs old memories, awakens the old feuds. Even when the Titans threatened last year, I did not think it worth the risk to use this place.”  
  
Leo's face turned nervous, mirroring his emotions. “Hey, look, this place found me. It was meant to happen. It’s a good thing.”  
  
“I hope you’re right,” Chiron said.  
  
“I am!” Leo pulled the old drawing out of his pocket and spread it on the table for everyone to see.  
  
“There,” he said proudly. “Aeolus returned that to me. I drew it when I was five. That’s my destiny.”  
  
Nyssa frowned. “Leo, it’s a crayon drawing of a boat.”  
  
“Look.” He pointed at the largest schematic on the bulletin board—the blueprint showing a Greek trireme. Slowly, his cabinmates’ eyes widened as they compared the two designs. The number of masts and oars, even the decorations on the shields and sails were exactly the same as on Leo’s drawing.  
  
“That’s impossible,” Nyssa said. “That blueprint has to be a century old at least.”  
  
“‘Prophecy—Unclear—Flight,’” Jake Mason read from the notes on the blueprint. “It’s a diagram for a flying ship. Look, that’s the landing gear. And weaponry—Holy Hephaestus: rotating ballista, mounted crossbows, Celestial bronze plating. That thing would be one spankin’ hot war machine. Was it ever made?”  
  
“Not yet,” Leo said. “Look at the masthead.”  
  
There was no doubt - the figure at the front of the ship was the head of a dragon. A very particular dragon.  
  
“Festus,” Piper said. Everyone turned and looked at the dragon’s head sitting on the table.  
  
“He’s meant to be our masthead,” Leo said. “Our good luck charm, our eyes at sea. I’m supposed to build this ship. I’m gonna call it the Argo II. And guys, I’ll need your help.”  
  
“The Argo II.” I smiled. “After Jason’s ship.”  
  
Jason looked a little uncomfortable, but he nodded. “Leo’s right. That ship is just what we need for our journey.”  
  
“What journey?” Nyssa said. “You just got back!”  
  
Piper ran her fingers over the old crayon drawing. “We’ve got to confront Porphyrion, the giant king. He said he would destroy the gods at their roots.”  
  
“Indeed,” Chiron said. “Much of Rachel’s Great Prophecy is still a mystery to me, but one thing is clear. You four - Theodora, Jason, Piper, and Leo - are among the eight demigods who must take on that quest. You must confront the giants in their homeland, where they are strongest. You must stop them before they can wake Gaea fully, before they destroy Mount Olympus.”  
  
“Um...” Nyssa shifted. “You don’t mean Manhattan, do you?”  
  
“No,” Leo said. “The original Mount Olympus. We have to sail to Greece.”  
  
It took a few minutes for that to settle in. Then the other Hephaestus campers started asking questions all at once. Who were the other four demigods? How long would it take to build the boat? Why didn’t everyone get to go to Greece?  
  
“Heroes!” Chiron struck his hoof on the floor. “All the details are not clear yet, but Leo is correct. He will need your help to build the Argo II. It is perhaps the greatest project Cabin Nine has even undertaken, even greater than the bronze dragon.”  
  
“It’ll take a year at least,” Nyssa guessed. “Do we have that much time?”  
  
“You have six months at most,” Chiron said. “You should sail by summer solstice, when the gods’ power is strongest. Besides, we evidently cannot trust the wind gods, and the summer winds are the least powerful and easiest to navigate. You dare not sail any later, or you may be too late to stop the giants. You must avoid ground travel, using only air and sea, so this vehicle is perfect. Jason being the son of the sky god...”  
  
His voice trailed off, but I figured Chiron was thinking about Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon. He would’ve been good on this voyage, too. I missed him, he was like a big brother to me.  
  
Jake Mason turned to Leo. “Well, one thing’s for sure. You are now senior counselor. This is the biggest honor the cabin has ever had. Anyone object?”  
  
Nobody did. All his cabinmates smiled at him, and I could almost feel their cabin’s curse breaking, their sense of hopelessness melting away.  
  
“It’s official, then,” Jake said. “You’re the man.”  
  
“Well,” he said at last, “if you guys elect me leader, you must be even crazier than I am. So let’s build a spankin’ hot war machine!”

* * * * *

"Annie!" I jumped on Annabeth's back and hugged her tightly. "I've missed you." "I've missed you too, Dor." She linked her arms underneath my legs as we spoke and we spun a few circles before she set me down, as per usual.

"I've brought a friend." She pointed at Rachel, who was talking to Argus a few feet away.

"Ginger!" Her face broke into a grin before she hugged me. Chiron finally arrived at the scene.

"Welcome back. Sorry to rush the two of you, but there are very important matters to discuss, and we need to summon the council immediately." I nodded. "I'll go get Jason, he said he needed to do something in his cabin beforehand." I waved at a few of my friends as I walked to the cabins. Travis Stoll was walking towards the Big House, and I gave him a quick hug: I hadn't gotten to talk to him or Connor since the quest.

I paused at Cabin Three, but shrugged it off; now that I sort of knew what had happened to Percy, I was a little more at ease. A little.

I knocked on the door to Cabin One, and opened it softly. He was standing with a sword in his hand, and turned around to look at me.

“Annabeth and Rachel are here,” I told Jason. “Chiron has summoned the council.”

* * * * *

Somebody had brought Seymour the leopard head in from the living room and hung him on the wall. Every once in a while, a counselor would toss him a Snausage.  
  
Jason, was sitting next to me, with Leo next to him and Piper next to Leo - it was their first meeting as senior counselors. Clarisse had her boots on the table, but nobody really cared. Clovis cabin was snoring in the corner while Butch was seeing how many pencils he could fit in Clovis’s nostrils. Travis Stoll was holding a lighter under a Ping-Pong ball to see if it would burn, and Will Solace was absently wrapping and unwrapping an Ace bandage around his wrist. Lou Ellen was playing “got-your-nose” with Miranda Gardiner, except that Lou Ellen really had magically disconnected Miranda’s nose, and Miranda was trying to get it back.  
  
I had hoped Thalia would show. She’d promised, after all - but Thalia often got sidetracked fighting monsters or running quests for Artemis, and she would probably arrive soon.  
  
Rachel Dare sat next to Chiron at the head of the table. She was wearing her Clarion Academy school uniform dress. I smiled, knowing she hated not being able to draw on it with pens and markers.  
  
Annabeth didn’t look relaxed. She wore armor over her camp clothes, with her knife at her side and her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. As soon as Jason walked in, she fixed him with an expectant look, as if she were trying to extract information out of him by sheer willpower. I put my hand on her shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile. She gave me a tight one back.  
  
“Let’s come to order,” Chiron said. “Lou Ellen, please give Miranda her nose back. Travis, if you’d kindly extinguish the flaming Ping-Pong ball, and Butch, I think twenty pencils is really too many for any human nostril. Thank you. Now, as you can see, Theodora, Jason, Piper, and Leo have returned successfully... more or less. Some of you have heard parts of their story, but I will let them fill you in.”  
  
Everyone looked at Jason. He cleared his throat and began the story. Piper, Leo and I chimed in from time to time, filling in the details he forgot.  
  
It only took a few minutes, but it seemed like longer with everyone watching him. The silence was heavy, and for so many ADHD demigods to sit still listening for that long, we knew the story must have sounded pretty wild. He ended with Hera’s visit right before the meeting, which didn't surprise me too much.  
  
“So Hera was here,” Annabeth said. “Talking to you.”  
  
Jason nodded. “Look, I’m not saying I trust her-”  
  
“That’s smart,” Annabeth said.  
  
“-but she isn’t making this up about another group of demigods. That’s where I came from.”  
  
“Romans.” Clarisse tossed Seymour a Snausage. “You expect us to believe there’s another camp with demigods, but they follow the Roman forms of the gods. And we’ve never even heard of them.”  
  
Piper sat forward. “The gods have kept the two groups apart, because every time they see each other, they try to kill each other.”  
  
“I can respect that,” Clarisse said. “Still, why haven’t we ever run across each other on quests?”  
  
“Oh, yes,” Chiron said sadly. “You have, many times. It’s always a tragedy, and always the gods do their best to wipe clean the memories of those involved. The rivalry goes all the way back to the Trojan War, Clarisse. The Greeks invaded Troy and burned it to the ground. The Trojan hero Aeneas escaped, and eventually made his way to Italy, where he founded the race that would someday become Rome. The Romans grew more and more powerful, worshipping the same gods but under different names, and with slightly different personalities.”  
  
“More warlike,” Jason said. “More united. More about expansion, conquest, and discipline.”  
  
“Yuck,” Travis put in.  
  
Several of the others looked equally uncomfortable, though Clarisse shrugged like it sounded okay to her.  
  
Annabeth twirled her knife on the table. “And the Romans hated the Greeks. They took revenge when they conquered the Greek isles, and made them part of the Roman Empire.”  
  
“Not exactly hated them,” Jason said. “The Romans admired Greek culture, and were a little jealous. In return, the Greeks thought the Romans were barbarians, but they respected their military power. So during Roman times, demigods started to divide - either Greek or Roman.”  
  
“And it’s been that way ever since,” Annabeth guessed. “But this is crazy. Chiron, where were the Romans during the Titan War? Didn’t they want to help?”  
  
Chiron tugged at his beard. “They did help, Annabeth. While you and Percy were leading the battle to save Manhattan, who do think conquered Mount Othrys, the Titans’ base in California?”  
  
“Hold on,” Travis said. “You said Mount Othrys just crumbled when we beat Kronos.”  
  
“No,” Jason said. He remembered flashes of the battle - a giant in starry armor and a helm mounted with ram’s horns. He remembered his army of demigods scaling Mount Tam, fighting through hordes of snake monsters. “It didn’t just fall. We destroyed their palace. I defeated the Titan Krios myself.”  
  
Annabeth’s eyes were as stormy as a ventus. I could almost see her thoughts moving, putting the pieces together. “The Bay Area. We demigods were always told to stay away from it because Mount Othrys was there. But that wasn’t the only reason, was it? The Roman camp - it’s got to be somewhere near San Francisco. I bet it was put there to keep watch on the Titans’ territory. Where is it?”  
  
Chiron shifted in his wheelchair. “I cannot say. Honestly, even I have never been trusted with that information. My counterpart, Lupa, is not exactly the sharing type. Jason’s memory, too, has been burned away.”  
  
“The camp’s heavily veiled with magic,” Jason said. “And heavily guarded. We could search for years and never find it.”  
  
Rachel Dare laced her fingers. Of all the people in the room, only she didn’t seem nervous about the conversation. “But you’ll try, won’t you? You’ll build Leo’s boat, the Argo II. And before you make for Greece, you’ll sail for the Roman camp. You’ll need their help to confront the giants.”  
  
“Bad plan,” Clarisse warned. “If those Romans see a warship coming, they’ll assume we’re attacking.”  
  
“You’re probably right,” Jason agreed. “But we have to try. I was sent here to learn about Camp Half-Blood, to try to convince you the two camps don’t have to be enemies. A peace offering.”  
  
“Hmm,” Rachel said. “Because Hera is convinced we need both camps to win the war with the giants. Eight heroes of Olympus - some Greek, some Roman.”  
  
Annabeth nodded. “Your Great Prophecy - what’s the last line?”  
  
“And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.”  
  
“Gaea has opened the Doors of Death,” Annabeth said. “She’s letting out the worst villains of the Underworld to fight us. Medea, Midas - there’ll be more, I’m sure. Maybe the line means that the Roman and Greek demigods will unite, and find the doors, and close them.”  
  
“Or it could mean they fight each other at the doors of death,” Clarisse pointed out. “It doesn’t say we’ll cooperate.”  
  
There was silence as the campers let that happy thought sink in.  
  
“I’m going,” Annabeth said. “Jason, when you get this ship built, let me go with you.”  
  
“I was hoping you’d offer,” Jason said. “You of all people - we’ll need you.”  
  
“Wait.” Leo frowned. “I mean that’s cool with me and all. But why Annabeth of all people?”  
  
Annabeth and Jason studied one another, and I knew she had put it together. She saw the dangerous truth.  
  
“Hera said my coming here was an exchange of leaders,” Jason said. “A way for the two camps to learn of each other’s existence.”  
  
“Yeah?” Leo said. “So?”  
  
“An exchange goes two ways,” Jason said. “When I got here, my memory was wiped. I didn’t know who I was or where I belonged. Fortunately, you guys took me in and I found a new home. I know you’re not my enemy. The Roman camp - they’re not so friendly. You prove your worth quickly, or you don’t survive. They may not be so nice to him, and if they learn where he comes from, he’s going to be in serious trouble.”

“Him?” Leo said. “Who are you talking about?”  
  
“My boyfriend,” Annabeth said grimly. “He disappeared around the same time Jason appeared. If Jason came to Camp Half-Blood-”  
  
“Exactly,” Jason agreed. “Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn’t even remember who he is.”


	31. Chapter 31

  **JASON**

It had been about two weeks since our quest, and I was exhausted from today. Thank god for free time at the beach - I wouldn't have been able to climb the lava wall one more time. I glanced over at Piper, who was playing soccer with some Apollo kids and the Stoll brothers. Theodora and I were sitting at a distance from all the other campers. She was reading a book of some Shakespeare stuff, I think she'd said they were his sonnets. She was lucky enough to not have dyslexia, because she loved reading.

"Theo?" She looked up from making notes, scrunching her nose as she did so. "Hmm?" She was wearing a black bikini that had little skulls with hearts for eye sockets on it, and I could see the scars on her back again, as well as a few of her ribs. She'd explained to me a few days ago how children of Lyssa often looked like that - small and skinny, as well as unnatural in the eyes of most people.

Before I lost my courage, I leaned over and pecked her lips. She made a little noise of surprise, but grabbed my face and gave me a kiss back. We sat there for a few moments, just grinning at each other, and then I heard someone wolf-whistle. "You owe me ten bucks, I told you it'd be less than two weeks!" We both broke into laughter at Piper yelling at someone. Then suddenly, a few campers ran for us. Theo grinned at my confusion. "Camp tradition," was all she said before Clarisse threw her over her shoulder and the Stoll brothers yanked me up and started pulling me towards the water. They threw us both in, and Theo splashed water at them in mild defiance. They retreated and we were left sitting in the water, me up to just underneath my shoulders, her up to her neck.

"Tradition?" She smiled reminiscently. "When Percy and Annabeth had their first kiss at camp, they were thrown into the lake. Of course, it was less of an inconvenience to them, son of Poseidon and all. Since then, all first kisses at camp get thrown into the lake or the sea - whichever is closer at the moment." I chuckled at that. I stood up and offered her my hand, and she took it. I realized my mistake too late - she pulled me down next to her and stood up on her own. She tried to run, but I stood up and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back. She let out a little yelp as I picked her up bridal style but laughed as I carried her further into the sea.

"Drop me and you'll be sorry, Sparky." I tried my best to look offended at the nickname.

"I won't drop you, don't worry." I grinned. "I'll do better than that." I threw her a little deeper into the see.

"Oh I'll get you for that."

* * * * *

**PIPER**

Two months had passed since our quest. Four more until the trip to Camp Jupiter, and then Greece.

Thalia was supposed to visit today. We'd been discussing my joining the Hunters after hopefully saving the world. On the one hand, it seemed cool and all, and Thalia was amazing, but on the other hand, all of my friend were here. I was head counsellor of the Aphrodite cabin, and I couldn't let Drew - or someone like her - take over again.

"Pipes? You okay?" Dor slung her arm around my shoulder - which was a little difficult for her, because of how short she was, but she managed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about Thalia, she's visiting later today, remember?"

"You still thinking about joining the Hunt?" "I'm not sure. I suck at shooting with a bow and arrow, for one thing." We both giggled a little. "C'mon, we gotta do cabin inspection. Let's start with yours, and we can work our way up to Cabin Two, then the male gods' side." She nodded and linked her arm through mine and we walked to her cabin.

* * * * *

**THEODORA**

Just two months until the Summer Solstice. Two months until - hopefully - we save the world, and honestly, I was dead scared. The others were. too. I could sense it.

Piper had been Iris-messaging Thalia a lot. I'm now almost sure something is going on between the two. Meanwhile, Jason grew increasingly nervous by the day now. I didn't need a built-in Olympian fear-radar to know that.

The Argo II was coming along nicely. Leo and his cabin had been working very hard to make sure everything was perfect. Annie and some other Athena kids had been helping. I knew she was even more nervous than Jason though.

"Hey, you alright?" Butch came over to me. "Yeah, fine, just... You know, thinking." He nodded and gestured to Porkpie, the pegasus I was grooming. "Need help?" "No, I'm good, but thanks."

* * * * *

**LEO**

"You sure this is going to work?" I grinned at Jason's dubious face. "Trust me man, it will. Okay, let's go." I started the recording on the scroll.

"Hey! Greetings from your friends at Camp Half-Blood, et cetera. This is Leo. I'm the..." I looked at the girls and yelled: "What's my title? Am I like admiral, or captain, or-" "Repair boy!" Piper yelled at me. "Very funny, Piper." I turned back to the recorder. "So yeah, I'm... ah... supreme commander of the Argo II. Yeah, I like that! Anyway, we're gonna be sailing toward you in about, I dunno, an hour in this big mother warship. We'd appreciate it if you'd not, like, blow us out of the sky or anything. So okay! If you could tell the Romans that. See you soon. Yours in demigodishness, and all that. Peace out." I stopped the recorder and grinned at the rest.

"Let's do this."

 


	32. Chapter 32

**ANNABETH**

Until we met the exploding statue, I thought we were prepared for anything.  
  
I’d paced the deck of their flying warship, the Argo II, checking and double-checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down. I confirmed that the white “We come in peace” flag was flying from the mast. I reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew - and the backup plan, and the backup plan for the backup plan.  
  
Most important, I pulled aside our war-crazed chaperone, Coach Gleeson Hedge, and encouraged him to take the morning off in his cabin and watch reruns of mixed martial arts championships. The last thing we needed as we flew a magical Greek trireme into a potentially hostile Roman camp was a middle-aged satyr in gym clothes waving a club and yelling “Die!”  
  
Everything seemed to be in order. Even that mysterious chill I’d been feeling since the ship launched had dissipated, at least for now.  
  
The warship descended through the clouds, but i couldn’t stop second-guessing myself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked and attacked us on sight?  
  
The Argo II definitely did not look friendly. Two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete... well, it wasn’t the most appropriate ride for a meet-and-greet with the neighbors.  
  
I had tried to give the Romans a heads-up. I’d asked Leo to send one of his special inventions - a holographic scroll - to alert our friends inside the camp. Hopefully the message had gotten through. Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull - _WASSUP_? with a smiley face - but I vetoed the idea. I wasn’t sure the Romans had a sense of humor.  
  
Too late to turn back now.  
  
The clouds broke around the hull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below us. I gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard rail. My crewmates took their places.

Leo was rushing around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. Most helmsmen would've been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a tiller. Leo had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii.  He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or raise sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast. Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.

Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines.

“Lower your weapons,” she murmured. “We just want to talk.”  
  
Her charmspeak was so powerful, the words flowed over me, filling me with the desire to throw away my dagger and have a nice long chat.  
  
For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty. Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs. (Maybe as a joke, though you could never be sure with Piper.) Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right side with an eagle’s feather.

Dor was walking around, checking up on everyone to make sure nobody died of nervousness or something. That would've been bad.

She'd tried her best to look non-threatening,  opting for clothes without rips and holes in them, and neither her gloves nor her boots had spikes on them, which was unusual for her. She'd left out her regular thick eyeliner, as her eyes looked strange enough without them, and she'd dyed her hair its old black colour before we left.  
  
Then there was Dor's boyfriend - Jason. He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Over his jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, he’d donned a toga and a purple cloak - symbols of his old rank as praetor. With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control - just like a son of Jupiter should. He’d grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky.  
  
I tried to hide it, but I still didn’t completely trust the guy. He acted too perfect - always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect. In the back of her mind, I had a nagging thought: What if this is a trick and he betrays us? What if we sail into Camp Jupiter, and he says, _Hey, Romans! Check out these prisoners and this cool ship I brought you!_  
  
I doubted that would happen. Still, I couldn’t look at him without getting a bitter taste in my mouth. He’d been part of Hera’s forced “exchange program” to introduce the two camps. Her Most Annoying Majesty, Queen of Olympus, had convinced the other gods that their two sets of children - Roman and Greek - had to combine forces to save the world from the evil goddess Gaea, who was awakening from the earth, and her horrible children the giants.  
  
Without warning, Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson, my boyfriend, wiped his memory, and sent him to the Roman camp. In exchange, the Greeks had gotten Jason. None of that was Jason’s fault; but every time I saw him, I remembered how much I missed Percy.  
  
Percy... who was somewhere below us right now.  
  
 _Oh, gods_. Panic welled up inside me. I forced it down. I couldn’t afford to get overwhelmed. 

Dor started to walk over, but I waved her off. She went to talk to Jason.  
  
 _I’m a child of Athena_ , I told myself. _I have to stick to my plan and not get distracted._  
  
I felt it again - that familiar shiver, as if a psychotic snowman had crept up behind me and was breathing down my neck. I turned, but no one was there.  
  
Must be my nerves. Even in a world of gods and monsters, I couldn’t believe a new warship would be haunted. The Argo II was well protected. The Celestial bronze shields along the rail were enchanted to ward off monsters, and our onboard satyr, Coach Hedge, would have sniffed out any intruders.  
  
I wished I could pray to my mother for guidance, but that wasn’t possible now. Not after last month, when I’d had that horrible encounter with her mom and gotten the worst present of her life...  
  
The cold pressed closer. I thought I heard a faint voice in the wind, laughing. Every muscle in my body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong.  
  
I almost ordered Leo to reverse course. Then, in the valley below, horns sounded. The Romans had spotted them.  
  
I thought I knew what to expect. Jason had described Camp Jupiter to us in great detail. Still, I had trouble believing my eyes. Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake.  
  
Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. I recognized landmarks Jason had told us about - the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens.  
  
I saw evidence of the Romans’ recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building I guessed was the Senate House. The forum’s broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins.  
  
Dozens of kids in togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the Argo II. More Romans emerged from the shops and cafés, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.  
  
About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill. It looked just like the illustrations I had seen in military history books - with a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae. Inside, perfect rows of white barracks lined the main road - the Via Principalis.  
  
A column of demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. In the midst of their ranks was an actual war elephant.  
  
I wanted to land the Argo II before those troops arrived, but the ground was still several hundred feet below. I scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Percy.  
  
Then something behind me went _BOOM_!  
  
The explosion almost knocked me overboard. I whirled and found myself eye to eye with an angry statue.  
  
“Unacceptable!” he shrieked.  
  
Apparently he had exploded into existence, right there on the deck. Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.  
  
“I will not have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!” he announced in a fussy teacher voice. “I _certainly_ will not have Greeks!”  
  
Jason shot me a look that said, _I’ve got this._  
  
“Terminus,” he said. “It’s me. Jason Grace.”  
  
“Oh, I remember _you_ , Jason!” Terminus grumbled. “I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!”  
  
“But they’re not enemies-”  
  
“That’s right,” Piper jumped in. “We just want to talk. If we could-”  
  
“Ha!” snapped the statue. “Don’t try that charmspeak on me, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!”  
  
Piper glanced at her bronze dagger, which she’d apparently forgotten she was holding. “Um... okay. But how would you slap it? You don’t have any arms.”  
  
“Impertinence!” There was a sharp _POP_ and a flash of yellow. Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking.  
  
“Lucky for you I’ve just been through a battle,” Terminus announced. “If I were at full strength, I would’ve blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!”  
  
“Hold up.” Leo stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller. “Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I know you didn’t do that.”  
  
The idea that Leo might attack the statue with his gaming device was enough to snap me out of my shock.  
  
“Let’s all calm down.” I raised my hands to show I had no weapons. “I take it you’re Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I’m Annabeth Chase, daughter of-”  
  
“Oh, I know who you are!” The statue glared at me with its blank white eyes. “A child of Athena, Minerva’s Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for that goddess.”  
  
I clenched my jaw. This statue wasn’t making it easy to be diplomatic. “What exactly do you mean, that goddess? And what’s so scandalous about-”  
  
“Right!” Jason interrupted. “Anyway, Terminus, we’re here on a mission of peace. We’d love permission to land so we can-”  
  
“Impossible!” the god squeaked. “Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!”  
  
“Which is it?” Leo asked. “Surrender, or leave?”  
  
“Both!” Terminus said. “Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?”  
  
“Wow.” Leo studied Terminus with professional interest. “You’re wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look.”  
  
He exchanged the Wii controller for a screwdriver from his magic tool belt and tapped the statue’s pedestal.

“Stop that!” Terminus insisted. Another small explosion made Leo drop his screwdriver. “Weapons are not allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line.”  
  
“The what?” Piper asked.  
  
“City limits,” Jason translated.  
  
“And this entire ship is a weapon!” Terminus said. “You cannot land!”  
  
Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now. I scanned the faces and... oh, gods. I saw him. He was walking toward the ship with his arms around two other kids like they were best buddies - a stout boy with a black buzz cut, and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. Percy looked so at ease, so happy. He wore a purple cape just like Jason’s - the mark of a praetor.  
  
My heart did a gymnastics routine.  
  
“Leo, stop the ship,” I ordered.  
  
“What?”  
  
“You heard me. Keep us right where we are.”  
  
Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All ninety oars froze in place. The ship stopped sinking.  
  
“Terminus,” I said, “there’s no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?”  
  
The statue frowned. “Well, no...”  
  
“We can keep the ship aloft,” I said. “We’ll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won’t be on Roman soil. Not technically.”  
  
The statue seemed to ponder this. I wondered if he was scratching his chin with imaginary hands.  
  
“I like technicalities,” he admitted. “Still...”  
  
“All our weapons will stay aboard the ship,” I promised. “I assume the Romans - even those reinforcements marching toward us - will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?”  
  
“Of course!” Terminus said. “Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?”  
  
“Uh, Annabeth...” Leo said. “You sure this is a good idea?”  
  
I closed my fists to keep them from shaking. That cold feeling was still there. It floated just behind me, and now that Terminus was no longer shouting and causing explosions, I thought I could hear the presence laughing, as if it was delighted by the bad choices I was making.  
  
But Percy was down there... he was so close. I had to reach him.  
  
“It’ll be fine,” I said. “No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules.” I looked at the marble statue. “Do we have an agreement?”  
  
Terminus sniffed. “I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. Please try not to destroy my town.

* * * * *

A sea of hastily assembled demigods parted for me as I walked through the forum. Some looked tense, some nervous. Some were bandaged from their recent battle with the giants, but no one was armed. No one attacked.

Entire families had gathered to see the newcomers. I saw couples with babies, toddlers clinging to their parents’ legs, even some elderly folks in a combination of Roman robes and modern clothes. Were all of them demigods? I suspected so, though I’d never seen a place like this. At Camp Half-Blood, most demigods were teens. If they survived long enough to graduate from high school, they either stayed on as counselors or left to start lives as best they could in the mortal world. Here, it was an entire multigenerational community.  
  
At the far end of the crowd, I spotted Tyson the Cyclops and Percy’s hellhound, Mrs. O’Leary - who had been the first scouting party from Camp Half-Blood to reach Camp Jupiter. They looked to be in good spirits. Tyson waved and grinned. He was wearing an SPQR banner like a giant bib.  
  
Some part of my mind registered how beautiful the city was - the smells from the bakeries, the gurgling fountains, the flowers blooming in the gardens. And the architecture... gods, the architecture - gilded marble columns, dazzling mosaics, monumental arches, and terraced villas.  
  
In front of me, the demigods made way for a girl in full Roman armor and a purple cape. Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders. Her eyes were as black as obsidian.  
  
 _Reyna_.  
  
Jason had described her well. Even without that, I would have singled her out as the leader. Medals decorated her armor. She carried herself with such confidence the other demigods backed away and averted their gaze.  
  
I recognized something else in her face, too - in the hard set of her mouth and the deliberate way she raised her chin like she was ready to accept any challenge. Reyna was forcing a look of courage, while holding back a mixture of hopefulness and worry and fear that she couldn’t show in public.

I knew that expression. I saw it every time I looked in a mirror.  
  
The two of us considered each other. My friends fanned out on either side. The Romans murmured Jason’s name, staring at him in awe.  
  
Then someone else appeared from the crowd, and my vision tunneled.  
  
Percy smiled at me - that sarcastic, troublemaker smile that had annoyed me for years but eventually had become endearing. His sea-green eyes were as gorgeous as I remembered. His dark hair was swept to one side, like he’d just come from a walk on the beach. He looked even better than he had six months ago - tanner and taller, leaner and more muscular.  
  
I was too stunned to move. I felt that if I got any closer to him, all the molecules in my body might combust. I’d secretly had a crush on him since we were twelve years old. Last summer, I’d fallen for him hard. We’d been a happy couple for four months - and then he’d disappeared.  
  
During our separation, something had happened to my feelings. They’d grown painfully intense - like I’d been forced to withdraw from a life-saving medication. Now I wasn’t sure which was more excruciating - living with that horrible absence, or being with him again.  
  
The praetor Reyna straightened. With apparent reluctance, she turned toward Jason.  
  
“Jason Grace, my former colleague...” She spoke the word colleague like it was a dangerous thing. “I welcome you home. And these, your friends-”  
  
I didn’t mean to, but I surged forward. Percy rushed toward her at the same time. The crowd tensed. Some reached for swords that weren’t there.  
  
Percy threw his arms around me. We kissed, and for a moment nothing else mattered. An asteroid could have hit the planet and wiped out all life, and I wouldn’t have cared.  
  
Percy smelled of ocean air. His lips were salty.  
  
 _Seaweed Brain_ , I thought giddily.  
  
Percy pulled away and studied my face. “Gods, I never thought-”  
  
I grabbed his wrist and flipped him over my shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement. Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted, “Hold! Stand down!”  
  
I put my knee on Percy’s chest. I pushed my forearm against his throat. I didn’t care what the Romans thought. A white-hot lump of anger expanded in my chest - a tumor of worry and bitterness that I’d been carrying around since last autumn.  
  
“If you ever leave me again,” I said, my eyes stinging, “I swear to all the gods-”  
  
Percy had the nerve to laugh. Suddenly the lump of heated emotions melted inside me.  
  
“Consider me warned,” Percy said. “I missed you, too.”  
  
I rose and helped him to his feet. I wanted to kiss him again so badly, but managed to restrain herself.  
  
Jason cleared his throat. “So, yeah... It’s good to be back.”  
  
He introduced Reyna to Piper, who looked a little miffed that she hadn’t gotten to say the lines she’d been practicing, then to Leo, who grinned and flashed a peace sign. Then he gestured to Dor, and introduced her as well.  
  
“And this is Annabeth,” Jason said. “Uh, normally she doesn’t judo-flip people.”  
  
Reyna’s eyes sparkled. “You sure you’re not a Roman, Annabeth? Or an Amazon?”  
  
I didn’t know if that was a compliment, but I held out my hand. “I only attack my boyfriend like that,” I promised. “Pleased to meet you.”  
  
Reyna clasped my hand firmly. “It seems we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!”  
  
A few of the Roman campers hustled forward - apparently the senior officers. Two kids appeared at Percy’s side, the same ones I had seen him chumming around with earlier. The burly Asian guy with the buzz cut was about fifteen. He was cute in a sort of oversized-cuddly-panda-bear way. The girl was younger, maybe thirteen, with amber eyes and chocolate skin and long curly hair. Her cavalry helmet was tucked under her arm.  
  
I could tell from their body language that they felt close to Percy. They stood next to him protectively, like they’d already shared many adventures. I fought down a twinge of jealousy. Was it possible Percy and this girl... no. The chemistry between the three of them wasn’t like that. I had spent my whole life learning to read people. It was a survival skill. If I had to guess, I’d say the big Asian guy was the girl’s boyfriend, though I suspected they hadn’t been together long.  
  
There was one thing she didn’t understand: what was the girl staring at? She kept frowning in Piper and Leo’s direction, like she recognized one of them and the memory was painful.  
  
Meanwhile, Reyna was giving orders to her officers. “... tell the legion to stand down. Dakota, alert the spirits in the kitchen. Tell them to prepare a welcome feast. And, Octavian-”  
  
“You’re letting these intruders into the camp?” A tall guy with stringy blond hair elbowed his way forward. “Reyna, the security risks-”  
  
“We’re not taking them to the camp, Octavian.” Reyna flashed him a stern look. “We’ll eat here, in the forum.”  
  
“Oh, much better,” Octavian grumbled. He seemed to be the only one who didn’t defer to Reyna as his superior, despite the fact that he was scrawny and pale and for some reason had three teddy bears hanging from his belt. “You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship.”  
  
“These are our guests.” Reyna clipped off every word. “We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely.”  
  
“Good idea,” Percy put in. “Go burn your bears, Octavian.”  
  
Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile. “You have my orders. Go.”  
  
The officers dispersed. Octavian shot Percy a look of absolute loathing. Then he gave me a suspicious once-over and stalked away.  
  
Percy slipped his hand into mine. “Don’t worry about Octavian,” he said. “Most of the Romans are good people - like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We’ll be fine.”  
  
I felt as if someone had draped a cold washcloth across my neck. I heard that whispering laughter again, as if the presence had followed me from the ship.  
  
I looked up at the Argo II. Its massive bronze hull glittered in the sunlight. Part of me wanted to kidnap Percy right now, climb on board, and get out of here while we still could.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. And there was no way I would ever risk losing Percy again.  
  
“We’ll be fine,” I repeated, trying to believe it.  
  
“Excellent,” Reyna said. She turned to Jason, and I thought there was a hungry sort of gleam in her eyes. “Let’s talk, and we can have a proper reunion."

 


	33. Chapter 33

**THEODORA**

I wished I had an appetite, because the Romans knew how to eat.

Sets of couches and low tables were carted into the forum until it resembled a furniture showroom. Romans lounged in groups of ten or twenty, talking and laughing while wind spirits - aurae - swirled overhead, bringing an endless assortment of pizzas, sandwiches, chips, cold drinks, and fresh-baked cookies. Drifting through the crowd were purple ghosts - Lares - in togas and legionnaire armor. Around the edges of the feast, satyrs (no, fauns, I thought) trotted from table to table, panhandling for food and spare change. In the nearby fields, the war elephant frolicked with Mrs. O’Leary, and children played tag around the statues of Terminus that lined the city limits.  
  
The whole scene was so familiar yet so completely alien that it gave me vertigo.  
  
Reyna and a few of her officers (including the blond kid Octavian, freshly back from burning a teddy bear for the gods) sat with our crew. Percy joined us with his two new friends, Frank and Hazel.  
  
As a tornado of food platters settled onto the table, Percy leaned over and whispered something to Annabeth. I could tell she was trying not to stare at the new marks on Percy's forearm - an SPQR tattoo like Jason's.

At Camp Half-Blood, demigods got bead necklaces to commemorate years of training. Here, the Romans burned a tattoo into your flesh, as if to say: You belong to us. Permanently.  
  
“Okay. Sure.” She looked kind of bitter when she responded.  
  
“I’ve been thinking,” he said nervously. “I had this idea-”  
  
He stopped as Reyna called a toast to friendship.  
  
After introductions all around, the Romans and our crew began exchanging stories. Jason explained how he’d arrived at Camp Half-Blood without his memory, and how he’d gone on a quest with me, Piper and Leo to rescue the goddess Hera (or Juno, take your pick - she was equally annoying in Greek or Roman) from imprisonment at the Wolf House in northern California.  
  
“Impossible!” Octavian broke in. “That’s our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there-”  
  
“They would’ve destroyed her,” I said. “And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps."

"Now, be quiet and let Jason finish," Piper added.  
  
Octavian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. I really loved Piper’s charmspeak. I noticed Reyna looking back and forth between Jason and me, her brow creased, as if just beginning to realize the two of us were a couple.  
  
“So,” Jason continued, “that’s how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She’s still half asleep, but she’s the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House: he said he was retreating to the ancient lands - Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by... what did he call it? Pulling up their roots.”  
  
Percy nodded thoughtfully. “Gaea’s been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face.”  
  
Percy recounted his side of the story. He talked about waking up at the Wolf House with no memories except for one name - Annabeth.  
  
When he said that, Annabeth looked like she was trying hard not to cry. Percy told us how he’d traveled to Alaska with Frank and Hazel - how they’d defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos, and returned with the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp to repel an attack by the giants’ army.  
  
When Percy had finished, Jason whistled appreciatively. “No wonder they made you praetor.”  
  
Octavian snorted. “Which means we now have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two!”  
  
“On the bright side,” Percy said, “both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up.”  
  
Octavian turned as purple as a Roman T-shirt. Jason gave Percy a fist bump.  
  
Even Reyna managed a smile, though her eyes were stormy.  
  
“We’ll have to figure out the extra praetor problem later,” she said. “Right now we have more serious issues to deal with.”  
  
“I’ll step aside for Jason,” Percy said easily. “It’s no biggie.”  
  
“No biggie?” Octavian choked. “The praetorship of Rome is no biggie?”  
  
Percy ignored him and turned to Jason. “You’re Thalia Grace’s brother, huh? Wow. You guys look nothing alike.”  
  
“Yeah, I noticed,” Jason said. “Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job.”  
  
“Back at you,” Percy said.  
  
Annabeth kicked his shin. Reyna was right: we had serious things to discuss. “We should talk about the Great Prophecy. It sounds like the Romans are aware of it too?”  
  
Reyna nodded. “We call it the Prophecy of Eight. Octavian, you have it committed to memory?”  
  
“Of course,” he said. “But, Reyna-”  
  
“Recite it, please. In English, not Latin.”  
  
Octavian sighed. “Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall-”  
  
“An oath to keep with a final breath,” Annabeth continued. “And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.”  
  
Everyone stared at her - except for Leo, who had constructed a pinwheel out of aluminum foil taco wrappers and was sticking it into passing wind spirits.  
  
The big kid, Frank, sat forward, staring at her in fascination, as if she’d grown a third eye. “Is it true you’re a child of Min - I mean, Athena?”  
  
“Yes,” she said. “Why is that such a surprise?”  
  
Octavian scoffed. “If you’re truly a child of the wisdom goddess-”  
  
“Enough,” Reyna snapped. “Annabeth is what she says. She’s here in peace. Besides...” She gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect. “Percy has spoken highly of you.”  
  
The undertones in Reyna’s voice took me a moment to decipher. Percy looked down, suddenly interested in his cheeseburger.  
  
Oh, gods…Reyna had tried to make a move on Percy. That explained the tinge of bitterness, maybe even envy, in her words. Percy had turned her down for Annabeth.  
  
“Uh, thanks,” she told Reyna. “At any rate, some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death... that means Romans and Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors.”  
  
Hazel, the girl with the cavalry helmet and the long curly hair, picked up something next to her plate. It looked like a large ruby; but before I could be sure, Hazel slipped it into the pocket of her denim shirt.  
  
“My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors,” she said.  
  
“Wait,” I said. “Nico di Angelo? He’s your brother?”  
  
Hazel nodded as if this were obvious. A dozen more questions crowded into my head, but it was already spinning like Leo’s pinwheel. I decided to let the matter go. “Okay. You were saying?”  
  
“He disappeared.” Hazel moistened her lips. “I’m afraid... I’m not sure, but I think something’s happened to him.”  
  
“We’ll look for him,” Percy promised, glancing at me. He knew I thought of Nico as a little brother. “We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we’d find both answers in Rome - like, the original Rome. That’s on the way to Greece, right?”  
  
“Thanatos told you this?” Annabeth sounded a little dubious. “The death god?”  
  
Percy took a bite of his burger. “Now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they’ll just keep coming back.”  
  
Piper twisted the feather in her hair. “Like water leaking through a dam,” she suggested.  
  
“Yeah.” Percy smiled. “We’ve got a dam hole.” I giggled  
  
“What?” Piper asked.  
  
“Nothing,” I said. “Inside joke. The point is we’ll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece. It’s the only way we’ll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they stay defeated.”  
  
Reyna plucked an apple from a passing fruit tray. She turned it in her fingers, studying the dark red surface. “You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realize that the ancient lands - and the Mare Nostrum - are dangerous?”  
  
“Mary who?” Leo asked.  
  
“Mare Nostrum,” Jason explained. “Our Sea. It’s what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean.”  
  
Reyna nodded. “The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not only the birthplace of the gods. It’s also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants... and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, there it would be ten times worse.”  
  
“You said Alaska would be bad,” Percy reminded her. “We survived that.”  
  
Reyna shook her head. Her fingernails cut little crescents into the apple as she turned it. “Percy, traveling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether. It’s been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there.”  
  
“Then we’re good!” Leo grinned over the top of his pinwheel. “Because we’re all crazy, right? Besides, the Argo II is a top-of-the-line warship. She’ll get us through.”  
  
“We’ll have to hurry,” Jason added. “I don’t know exactly what the giants are planning, but Gaea is growing more conscious all the time. She’s invading dreams, appearing in weird places, summoning more and more powerful monsters. We have to stop the giants before they can wake her up fully.”

Annabeth shuddered, but I don't think anyone noticed.  
  
“Eight half-bloods must answer the call,” she said. “It needs to be a mix from both our camps. Jason, Piper, Leo, Dor, and me. That’s five.”  
  
“And me,” Percy said. “Along with Hazel and Frank. That’s eight.”  
  
“What?” Octavian shot to his feet. “We’re just supposed to accept that? Without a vote in the senate? Without a proper debate? Without-”  
  
“Percy!” Tyson the Cyclops bounded toward them with Mrs. O’Leary at his heels. On the hellhound’s back sat the skinniest harpy I had ever seen - a sickly-looking girl with stringy red hair, a sackcloth dress, and red-feathered wings.  
  
I didn’t know where the harpy had come from, but my heart warmed to see Tyson in his tattered flannel and denim with the backward SPQR banner across his chest. I’d had some pretty bad experiences with Cyclopes, but Tyson was a sweetheart. He was also Percy’s half brother (long story), which made him almost like family.  
  
Tyson stopped by their couch and wrung his meaty hands. His big brown eye was full of concern. “Ella is scared,” he said.  
  
“N-n-no more boats,” the harpy muttered to herself, picking furiously at her feathers. “Titanic, Lusitania, Pax... boats are not for harpies.”  
  
Leo squinted. He looked at Hazel, who was seated next to him. “Did that chicken girl just compare my ship to the Titanic?”  
  
“She’s not a chicken.” Hazel averted her eyes, as if Leo made her nervous. “Ella’s a harpy. She’s just a little... high-strung.”  
  
“Ella is pretty,” Tyson said. “And scared. We need to take her away, but she will not go on the ship.”  
  
“No ships,” Ella repeated. She looked straight at Annabeth. “Bad luck. There she is. _Wisdom’s daughter walks alone_ -”  
  
“Ella!” Frank stood suddenly. “Maybe it’s not the best time-”  
  
“ _The Mark of Athena burns through Rome_ ,” Ella continued, cupping her hands over her ears and raising her voice. “ _Twins snuff out the angel’s breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants’ bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jai_ l.”  
  
The effect was like someone dropping a flash grenade on the table. Everyone stared at the harpy. No one spoke. My shoulder touched Annie's, and I could sense her fear pulsing through her veins.

Around us, the sounds of the feast continued, but muted and distant, as if our little cluster of couches had slipped into a quieter dimension.  
  
Percy was the first to recover. He stood and took Tyson’s arm.  
  
“I know!” he said with feigned enthusiasm. “How about you take Ella to get some fresh air? You and Mrs. O’Leary-”  
  
“Hold on.” Octavian gripped one of his teddy bears, strangling it with shaking hands. His eyes fixed on Ella. “What was that she said? It sounded like-”  
  
“Ella reads a lot,” Frank blurted out. “We found her at a library.”  
  
“Yes!” Hazel said. “Probably just something she read in a book.”  
  
“Books,” Ella muttered helpfully. “Ella likes books.”  
  
Now that she’d said her piece, the harpy seemed more relaxed. She sat cross-legged on Mrs. O’Leary’s back, preening her wings.  
  
Annabeth gave Percy a curious glance. Obviously, he and Frank and Hazel were hiding something. Just as obviously, Ella had recited a prophecy - a prophecy that concerned me.  
  
Percy’s expression said, _Help_.  
  
“That was a prophecy,” Octavian insisted. “It sounded like a prophecy.”  
  
No one answered.  
  
I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but we understood that Percy was on the verge of big trouble.  
  
Annabeth forced a laugh. “Really, Octavian? Maybe harpies are different here, on the Roman side. Ours have just enough intelligence to clean cabins and cook lunches. Do yours usually foretell the future? Do you consult them for your auguries?”  
  
Her words had the intended effect. The Roman officers laughed nervously. Some sized up Ella, then looked at Octavian and snorted. The idea of a chicken lady issuing prophecies was apparently just as ridiculous to Romans as it was to Greeks.  
  
“I, uh...” Octavian dropped his teddy bear. “No, but-”  
  
“She’s just spouting lines from some book,” Annabeth said, “like Hazel suggested. Besides, we already have a real prophecy to worry about.”  
  
She turned to Tyson. “Percy’s right. Why don’t you take Ella and Mrs. O’Leary and shadow-travel somewhere for a while. Is Ella okay with that?”  
  
“‘Large dogs are good,’” Ella said. “Old Yeller, 1957, screenplay by Fred Gipson and William Tunberg.”  
  
I wasn’t sure how to take that answer, but Percy smiled like the problem was solved.  
  
“Great!” Percy said. “We’ll Iris-message you guys when we’re done and catch up with you later.”  
  
The Romans looked at Reyna, waiting for her ruling. I held my breath.  
  
Reyna had an excellent poker face. She studied Ella, but I couldn’t guess what she was thinking.  
  
“Fine,” the praetor said at last. “Go.”  
  
“Yay!” Tyson went around the couches and gave everyone a big hug - even Octavian, who didn’t look happy about it. Then he climbed on Mrs. O’Leary’s back with Ella, and the hellhound bounded out of the forum. They dove straight into a shadow on the Senate House wall and disappeared.  
  
“Well.” Reyna set down her uneaten apple. “Octavian is right about one thing. We must gain the senate’s approval before we let any of our legionnaires go on a quest - especially one as dangerous as you’re suggesting.”  
  
“This whole thing smells of treachery,” Octavian grumbled. “That trireme is not a ship of peace!”  
  
“Come aboard, man,” Leo offered. “I’ll give you a tour. You can steer the boat, and if you’re really good I’ll give you a little paper captain’s hat to wear.”  
  
Octavian’s nostrils flared. “How dare you-”  
  
“It’s a good idea,” Reyna said. “Octavian, go with him. See the ship. We’ll convene a senate meeting in one hour.”  
  
“But...” Octavian stopped. Apparently he could tell from Reyna’s expression that further arguing would not be good for his health. “Fine.”  
  
Leo got up and slung his arm around Octavian's skinny shoulders.

“Back soon,” he promised. “This is gonna be epic.”  
  
The wind spirits began clearing the plates.  
  
“Uh, Reyna,” Jason said, “if you don’t mind, I’d like to show Theo around before the senate meeting. She’s never seen New Rome.”  
  
Reyna’s expression hardened.  
  
I wondered how Jason could be so dense. Was it possible he really didn’t understand how much Reyna liked him? It was obvious enough to me. Asking to show his new girlfriend around Reyna’s city was rubbing salt in a wound. Annabeth and I shared a pained look.  
  
“Of course,” Reyna said coldly.  
  
Percy took Annabeth’s hand. “Yeah, me, too. I’d like to show Annabeth-”  
  
“No,” Reyna snapped.  
  
Percy knit his eyebrows. “Sorry?”  
  
“I’d like a few words with Annabeth,” Reyna said. “Alone. If you don’t mind, my fellow praetor.”  
  
Her tone made it clear she wasn’t really asking permission.  
  
“Come, daughter of Athena.” Reyna rose from her couch. “Walk with me.”

"Actually, Jase, I wanted to talk to Reyna. It'll be quick, I promise." He nodded, confused. I got up and followed the girls.


	34. Chapter 34

**ANNABETH**

I wanted to hate New Rome.  But as an aspiring architect, I couldn’t help admiring the terraced gardens, the fountains and temples, the winding cobblestone streets and gleaming white villas. After the Titan War last summer, I’d gotten my dream job of redesigning the palaces of Mount Olympus. Now, walking through this miniature city, I kept thinking, _I should have made a dome like that. I love the way those columns lead into that courtyard_. Whoever designed New Rome had clearly poured a lot of time and love into the project.  
  
“We have the best architects and builders in the world,” Reyna said, as if reading my thoughts. “Rome always did, in the ancient times. Many demigods stay on to live here after their time in the legion. They go to our university. They settle down to raise families. Percy seemed interested in this fact.”  
  
I wondered what that meant. I must have scowled more fiercely than I realized, because Reyna laughed.  
  
“You’re a warrior, all right,” the praetor said. “You’ve got fire in your eyes.”  
  
“Sorry.” I tried to tone down the glare.  
  
“Don’t be. I’m the daughter of Bellona.”  
  
“Roman goddess of war?”  
  
Reyna nodded. She turned and whistled like she was hailing a cab. A moment later, two metal dogs raced toward them - automaton greyhounds, one silver and one gold. They brushed against Reyna’s legs and regarded Dor and me with glistening ruby eyes.  
  
“My pets,” Reyna explained. “Aurum and Argentum. You don’t mind if they walk with us?”  
  
Again, I got the feeling it wasn’t really a request. I noted that the greyhounds had teeth like steel arrowheads. Maybe weapons weren’t allowed inside the city, but Reyna’s pets could still tear me to pieces if they chose.  
  
Reyna led us to an outdoor café, where the waiter clearly knew her. He smiled and handed her a to-go cup, then offered one to me.  
  
“Would you like some?” Reyna asked. “They make wonderful hot chocolate. Not really a Roman drink-”  
  
“But chocolate is universal,” Dor said.  
  
“Exactly.”  
  
It was a warm June afternoon, but I accepted the cup with thanks. Dor got one too, and the three of us walked on, Reyna’s gold and silver dogs roaming nearby.  
  
“In our camp,” Reyna said, “Athena is Minerva. Are you familiar with how her Roman form is different?”  
  
I hadn’t really considered it before. I remembered the way Terminus had called Athena _that goddess_ , as if she were scandalous. Octavian had acted like my very existence was an insult.

“I take it Minerva isn’t... uh, quite as respected here?”  
  
Reyna blew steam from her cup. “We respect Minerva. She’s the goddess of crafts and wisdom... but she isn’t really a goddess of war. Not for Romans. She’s also a maiden goddess, like Diana... the one you call Artemis. You won’t find any children of Minerva here. The idea that Minerva would have children - frankly, it’s a little shocking to us.”  
  
“Oh.” I felt my face flush. I didn’t want to get into the details of Athena’s children - how we were born straight from the mind of the goddess, just as Athena herself had sprung from the head of Zeus. Talking about that always made me feel self-conscious, like I was some sort of freak. People usually asked me whether or not I had a belly button, since I had been born magically. Of course I had a belly button. I couldn’t explain how. I didn’t really want to know.  
  
“I understand that you Greeks don’t see things the same way,” Reyna continued. “But Romans take vows of maidenhood very seriously. The Vestal Virgins, for instance... if they broke their vows and fell in love with anyone, they would be buried alive. So the idea that a maiden goddess would have children-”  
  
“Got it.” My hot chocolate suddenly tasted like dust. No wonder the Romans had been giving me strange looks. “I’m not supposed to exist. And even if your camp had children of Minerva-”  
  
“They wouldn’t be like you,” Reyna said. “They might be craftsmen, artists, maybe advisers, but not warriors. Not leaders of dangerous quests.”  
  
I started to object that I wasn’t the leader of the quest. Not officially. But I wondered if my friends on the Argo II would agree. The past few days, they had been looking to me for orders - even Jason, who could have pulled rank as the son of Jupiter, and Coach Hedge, who didn’t take orders from anyone.  
  
“There’s more.” Reyna snapped her fingers, and her golden dog, Aurum, trotted over. The praetor stroked his ears. “The harpy Ella... it was a prophecy she spoke. We all know that, don’t we?”  
  
I swallowed. Something about Aurum’s ruby eyes made me uneasy. I had heard that dogs could smell fear, even detect changes in a human’s breathing and heartbeat. I didn’t know if that applied to magical metal dogs, but I decided it would be better to tell the truth.  
  
“It sounded like a prophecy,” I admitted. “But I’ve never met Ella before today, and I’ve never heard those lines exactly.”  
  
“I have,” Reyna murmured. “At least some of them-”  
  
A few yards away, the silver dog barked. A group of children spilled out of a nearby alleyway and gathered around Argentum, petting the dog and laughing, unfazed by its razor-sharp teeth.  
  
“We should move on,” Reyna said.  
  
We wound our way up the hill. The greyhounds followed, leaving the children behind. I kept glancing at Reyna’s face. A vague memory started tugging at me - the way Reyna brushed her hair behind her ear, the silver ring she wore with the torch and sword design.  
  
“We’ve met before,” I ventured. “You were younger, I think.”  
  
Reyna gave me a dry smile. “Very good. Percy didn’t remember me. Of course you spoke mostly with my older sister Hylla, who is now queen of the Amazons. She left just this morning, before you arrived. At any rate, when we last met, I was a mere handmaiden in the house of Circe.”  
  
“Circe...” I remembered my trip to the island of the sorceress. I’d been thirteen. Percy and I had washed ashore from the Sea of Monsters. Hylla had welcomed us. She had helped me get cleaned up and given me a beautiful new dress and a complete makeover. Then Circe had made her sales pitch: if I stayed on the island, I could have magical training and incredible power. I had been tempted, maybe just a little, until I realized the place was a trap, and Percy had been turned into a rodent. (That last part seemed funny afterward; but at the time, it had been terrifying.) As for Reyna... she’d been one of the servants who had combed my hair.  
  
“You...” I said in amazement. “And Hylla is queen of the Amazons? How did you two-?”  
  
“Long story,” Reyna said. “But I remember you well. You were brave. I’d never seen anyone refuse Circe’s hospitality, much less outwit her. It’s no wonder Percy cares for you.”  
  
Her voice was wistful. I thought it might be safer not to respond.  
  
They reached the top of the hill, where a terrace overlooked the entire valley.  
  
“This is my favorite spot,” Reyna said. “The Garden of Bacchus.”  
  
Grapevine trellises made a canopy overhead. Bees buzzed through honeysuckle and jasmine, which filled the afternoon air with a dizzying mix of perfumes. In the middle of the terrace stood a statue of Bacchus in a sort of ballet position, wearing nothing but a loincloth, his cheeks puffed out and lips pursed, spouting water into a fountain.  
  
Despite my worries, I almost laughed. I knew the god in his Greek form, Dionysus - or Mr. D, as we called him back at Camp Half-Blood. Seeing our cranky old camp director immortalized in stone, wearing a diaper and spewing water from his mouth, made me feel a little better.  
  
Reyna stopped at the edge of the terrace. The view was worth the climb. The whole city spread out below us like a 3-D mosaic. To the south, beyond the lake, a cluster of temples perched on a hill. To the north, an aqueduct marched toward the Berkeley Hills. Work crews were repairing a broken section, probably damaged in the recent battle.  
  
“I wanted to hear it from you,” Reyna said.  
  
I turned. “Hear what from me?”  
  
“The truth,” Reyna said. “Convince me that I’m not making a mistake by trusting you. Tell me about yourself. Tell me about Camp Half-Blood. Your friend Piper has sorcery in her words. I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeak when I hear it. I can’t trust what she says. And Jason... well, he has changed. He seems distant, no longer quite Roman.”  
  
The hurt in her voice was as sharp as broken glass. I wondered if I had sounded that way, all the months I’d spent searching for Percy. At least I’d found my boyfriend. Reyna had no one. She was responsible for running an entire camp all by herself. I could sense that Reyna wanted Jason to love her. But he had disappeared, only to come back with a new girlfriend - who was standing right next to us. Meanwhile, Percy had risen to praetor, but he had rebuffed Reyna too. Now I had come to take him away. Reyna would be left alone again, shouldering a job meant for two people.  
  
When I had arrived at Camp Jupiter, I’d been prepared to negotiate with Reyna or even fight her if needed. I hadn’t been prepared to feel sorry for her.  
  
I kept that feeling hidden. Reyna didn’t strike me as someone who would appreciate pity.  
  
Instead, I told Reyna about my own life. I talked about my dad and stepmom and my two stepbrothers in San Francisco, and how I had felt like an outsider in my own family. I talked about how I had run away when I was only seven, finding my friends Luke and Thalia and making our way to Camp Half-Blood on Long Island. I described the camp and my years growing up there, meeting Dor and growing attached to her. I talked about meeting Percy and the adventures we’d had together.  
  
Reyna was a good listener.  
  
I was tempted to tell her about more recent problems: the fight with my mom, the gift of the silver coin, and the nightmares I’d been having - about an old fear so paralyzing, I’d almost decided that I couldn’t go on this quest. But I couldn’t bring myself to open up quite that much.  
  
When I was done talking, Reyna gazed over New Rome. Her metal greyhounds sniffed around the garden, snapping at bees in the honeysuckle. Finally Reyna pointed to the cluster of temples on the distant hill.  
  
“The small red building,” she said, “there on the northern side? That’s the temple of my mother, Bellona.” Reyna turned toward us. “Unlike your mother, Annabeth, Bellona has no Greek equivalent. She is fully, truly Roman, like how Theodora's mother is fully Greek. She’s the goddess of protecting the homeland.”  
  
I said nothing. I knew very little about the Roman goddess. I wished I had studied up, but Latin never came as easily to me as Greek. Down below, the hull of the Argo II gleamed as it floated over the forum, like some massive bronze party balloon.  
  
“When the Romans go to war,” Reyna continued, “we first visit the Temple of Bellona. Inside is a symbolic patch of ground that represents enemy soil. We throw a spear into that ground, indicating that we are now at war. You see, Romans have always believed that offense is the best defense. In ancient times, whenever our ancestors felt threatened by their neighbors, they would invade to protect themselves.”  
  
“They conquered everyone around them,” I said. “Carthage, the Gauls-”  
  
“And the Greeks.” Reyna let that comment hang. “My point, Annabeth, is that it isn’t Rome’s nature to cooperate with other powers. Every time Greek and Roman demigods have met, we’ve fought. Conflicts between our two sides have started some of the most horrible wars in human history - especially civil wars.”  
  
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Dor spoke up. “We’ve got to work together, or Gaea will destroy us both.”  
  
“I agree,” Reyna said. “But is cooperation possible? What if Juno’s plan is flawed? Even goddesses can make mistakes.”  
  
I waited for Reyna to get struck by lightning or turned into a peacock. Nothing happened.  
  
Unfortunately, I shared Reyna’s doubts. Hera did make mistakes. I had had nothing but trouble from that overbearing goddess, and I’d never forgive Hera for taking Percy away, even if it was for a noble cause.  
  
“I don’t trust the goddess,” I admitted. “But I do trust my friends. This isn’t a trick, Reyna. We can work together.”

"Reyna, know that I'm telling the truth when I say that a fight between the Greeks and Romans is a big fear for all of our crewmates, and everyone back at camp. I've sensed it - they all want this to go well." Dor fidgeted with her hands as she spoke, a sign I knew meant she was sincere.  
  
Reyna finished her cup of chocolate. She set the cup on the terrace railing and gazed over the valley as if imagining battle lines.  
  
“I believe you mean it,” she said. “But if you go to the ancient lands, especially Rome itself, there is something you should know about your mother.”  
  
My shoulders tensed. “My - my mother?”  
  
“When I lived on Circe’s island,” Reyna said, “we had many visitors. Once, perhaps a year before you and Percy arrived, a young man washed ashore. He was half mad from thirst and heat. He’d been drifting at sea for days. His words didn’t make much sense, but he said he was a son of Athena.”  
  
Reyna paused as if waiting for a reaction. I had no idea who the boy might have been. I wasn’t aware of any other Athena kids who’d gone on a quest in the Sea of Monsters, but still I felt a sense of dread. The light filtering through the grapevines made shadows writhe across the ground like a swarm of bugs.  
  
“What happened to this demigod?” I asked.  
  
Reyna waved her hand as if the question was trivial. “Circe turned him into a guinea pig, of course. He made quite a crazy little rodent. But before that, he kept raving about his failed quest. He claimed that he’d gone to Rome, following the Mark of Athena.”

I grabbed the railing to keep my balance.  
  
“Yes,” Reyna said, seeing my discomfort. “He kept muttering about wisdom’s child, the Mark of Athena, and the giants’ bane standing pale and gold. The same lines Ella was just reciting. But you say that you’ve never heard them before today?”  
  
“Not-not the way Ella said them.” My voice was weak. I wasn’t lying. I’d never heard that prophecy, but my mother had charged me with following the Mark of Athena; and as I thought about the coin in her pocket, a horrible suspicion began taking root in my mind. I remembered my mother’s scathing words. I thought about the strange nightmares I’d been having lately. “Did this demigod - did he explain his quest?”  
  
Reyna shook her head. “At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about. Much later, when I became praetor of Camp Jupiter, I began to suspect.”  
  
“Suspect... what?”  
  
“There is an old legend that the praetors of Camp Jupiter have passed down through the centuries. If it’s true, it may explain why our two groups of demigods have never been able to work together. It may be the cause of our animosity. Until this old score is finally settled, so the legend goes, Romans and Greeks will never be at peace. And the legend centers on Athena-”  
  
A shrill sound pierced the air. Light flashed in the corner of my eye.  
  
I turned in time to see an explosion blast a new crater in the forum. A burning couch tumbled through the air. Demigods scattered in panic.  
  
“Giants?” I reached for my dagger, which of course wasn’t there. “I thought their army was defeated!”  
  
“It isn’t the giants.” Reyna’s eyes seethed with rage. “You’ve betrayed our trust.”  
  
“What? No!”  
  
As soon as I said it, the Argo II launched a second volley. Its port ballista fired a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire, which sailed straight through the broken dome of the Senate House and exploded inside, lighting up the building like a jack-o’-lantern. If anyone had been in there...  
  
“Gods, no.” A wave of nausea almost made my knees buckle. “Reyna, it isn’t possible. We’d never do this! The entire crew feared this!" Dor's eyes were wild as she yelled at the praetor.  
  
The metal dogs ran to their mistress’s side. They snarled at us but paced uncertainly, as if reluctant to attack.  
  
“You’re telling the truth,” Reyna judged. “Perhaps you were not aware of this treachery, but someone must pay.”  
  
Down in the forum, chaos was spreading. Crowds were pushing and shoving. Fistfights were breaking out.  
  
“Bloodshed,” Reyna said.  
  
“We have to stop it!”  
  
I had a horrible feeling this might be the last time Reyna and the two of us ever acted in agreement, but together we ran down the hill.  
  
If weapons had been allowed in the city, my friends would have already been dead. The Roman demigods in the forum had coalesced into an angry mob. Some threw plates, food, and rocks at the Argo II, which was pointless, as most of the stuff fell back into the crowd.  
  
Several dozen Romans had surrounded Piper and Jason, who were trying to calm them without much luck. Piper’s charmspeak was useless against so many screaming, angry demigods. Jason’s forehead was bleeding. His purple cloak had been ripped to shreds. He kept pleading, “I’m on your side!” but his orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt didn’t help matters - nor did the warship overhead, firing flaming spears into New Rome. One landed nearby and blasted a toga shop to rubble.  
  
“Pluto’s pauldrons,” Reyna cursed. “Look.”  
  
Armed legionnaires were hurrying toward the forum. Two artillery crews had set up catapults just outside the Pomerian Line and were preparing to fire at the Argo II.  
  
“That’ll just make things worse,” I said.  
  
“I hate my job,” Reyna growled. She rushed off toward the legionnaires, her dogs at her side.  
  
 _Percy_ , I thought, scanning the forum desperately. _Where are you?_  
  
Two Romans tried to grab me. I ducked past them, plunging into the crowd. As if the angry Romans, burning couches, and exploding buildings weren’t confusing enough, hundreds of purple ghosts drifted through the forum, passing straight through the demigods’ bodies and wailing incoherently. The fauns had also taken advantage of the chaos. They swarmed the dining tables, grabbing food, plates, and cups. One trotted by me with his arms full of tacos and an entire pineapple between his teeth.  
  
A statue of Terminus exploded into being, right in front of me. He yelled at me in Latin, no doubt calling me a liar and a rule breaker; but I pushed the statue over and kept running.  
  
Finally I spotted Percy. He and his friends, Hazel and Frank, were standing in the middle of a fountain as Percy repelled the angry Romans with blasts of water. Percy’s toga was in tatters, but he looked unhurt.  
  
I called to him as another explosion rocked the forum. This time the flash of light was directly overhead. One of the Roman catapults had fired, and the Argo II groaned and tilted sideways, flames bubbling over its bronze-plated hull.  
  
I noticed a figure clinging desperately to the rope ladder, trying to climb down. It was Octavian, his robes steaming and his face black with soot.  
  
Over by the fountain, Percy blasted the Roman mob with more water. I ran toward him, ducking a Roman fist and a flying plate of sandwiches.  
  
“Annabeth!” Percy called. “What-?”  
  
“I don’t know!” I yelled.  
  
“I’ll tell you what!” cried a voice from above. Octavian had reached the bottom of the ladder. “The Greeks have fired on us! Your boy Leo has trained his weapons on Rome!”  
  
My chest filled with liquid hydrogen. I felt like I might shatter into a million frozen pieces.  
  
“You’re lying,” I said. “Leo would never-”  
  
“I was just there!” Octavian shrieked. “I saw it with my own eyes!”

"Annie, he's telling the truth, it traumatized him!" I cursed in Ancient Greek at Dor's words  
  
The Argo II returned fire. Legionnaires in the field scattered as one of their catapults was blasted to splinters.  
  
“You see?” Octavian screamed. “Romans, kill the invaders!”  
  
I growled in frustration. There was no time for anyone to figure out the truth. The crew from Camp Half-Blood was outnumbered a hundred to one, and even if Octavian had managed to stage some sort of trick (which I thought likely), we’d never be able to convince the Romans before we were overrun and killed.  
  
“We have to leave,” I told Percy. “Now.”  
  
He nodded grimly. “Hazel, Frank, you’ve got to make a choice. Are you coming?”  
  
Hazel looked terrified, but she donned her cavalry helmet. “Of course we are. But you’ll never make it to the ship unless we buy you some time.”  
  
“How?” Dor asked.  
  
Hazel whistled. Instantly a blur of beige shot across the forum. A majestic horse materialized next to the fountain. He reared, whinnying and scattering the mob. Hazel climbed on his back like she’d been born to ride. Strapped to the horse’s saddle was a Roman cavalry sword.  
  
Hazel unsheathed her golden blade. “Send me an Iris-message when you’re safely away, and we’ll rendezvous,” she said. “Arion, ride!”  
  
The horse zipped through the crowd with incredible speed, pushing back Romans and causing mass panic.  
  
I felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe we could make it out of here alive. Then, from halfway across the forum, I heard Jason shouting.  
  
“Romans!” he cried. “Please!”  
  
He and Piper were being pelted with plates and stones. Jason tried to shield Piper, but a brick caught him above the eye. He crumpled, and the crowd surged forward.

"Jase!" Dor started to run at him.  
  
“Get back!” Piper screamed. Her charmspeak rolled over the mob, making them hesitate, but I knew the effect wouldn’t last. Percy and I couldn’t possibly reach them in time to help.

"She can't shadow-travel all three of them on board!" I thought back to her training at camp, and she still had a lot of improving to do.  
  
“Frank,” Percy said, “it’s up to you. Can you help them?”  
  
I didn’t understand how Frank could do that all by himself, but he swallowed nervously.  
  
“Oh, gods,” he murmured. “Okay, sure. Just get up the ropes. Now.”  
  
Percy and I lunged for the ladder. Octavian was still clinging to the bottom, but Percy yanked him off and threw him into the mob.  
  
We began to climb as armed legionnaires flooded into the forum. Arrows whistled past my head. An explosion almost knocked me off the ladder. Halfway up, I heard a roar below and glanced down.  
  
Romans screamed and scattered as a full-sized dragon charged through the forum - a beast even scarier than the bronze dragon figurehead on the Argo II. It had rough gray skin like a Komodo lizard’s and leathery bat wings. Arrows and rocks bounced harmlessly off its hide as it lumbered toward Piper, Jason and Dor, grabbed Piper and Jason with its front claws, and vaulted into the air.  
  
“Is that...?” I couldn’t even put the thought into words.  
  
“Frank,” Percy confirmed, a few feet above me. “He has a few special talents.”  
  
“Understatement,” I muttered. “Keep climbing!”  
  
Without the dragon and Hazel’s horse to distract the archers, we never would have made it up the ladder; but finally we climbed past a row of broken aerial oars and onto the deck. The rigging was on fire. The foresail was ripped down the middle, and the ship listed badly to starboard.  
  
There was no sign of Coach Hedge, but Leo stood amidships, calmly reloading the ballista. My gut twisted with horror.  
  
“Leo!” I screamed. “What are you doing?”  
  
“Destroy them…” He faced me. His eyes were glazed. His movements were like a robot’s. “Destroy them all.”  
  
He turned back to the ballista, but Percy tackled him. Leo’s head hit the deck hard, and his eyes rolled up so that only the whites showed.  
  
The gray dragon soared into view. It circled the ship once and landed at the bow, depositing Jason and Piper, who both collapsed. Dor materialized out of his shadow, and the dragon was visibly startled.  
  
“Go!” Percy yelled. “Get us out of here!”  
  
With a shock, I realized he was talking to me.  
  
I ran for the helm. I made the mistake of glancing over the rail and saw armed legionnaires closing ranks in the forum, preparing flaming arrows. Hazel spurred Arion, and they raced out of the city with a mob chasing after them. More catapults were being wheeled into range. All along the Pomerian Line, the statues of Terminus were glowing purple, as if building up energy for some kind of attack.  
  
I looked over the controls. I cursed Leo for making them so complicated. No time for fancy maneuvers, but I did know one basic command: _Up_.  
  
I grabbed the aviation throttle and yanked it straight back. The ship groaned. The bow tilted up at a horrifying angle. The mooring lines snapped, and the Argo II shot into the clouds.


	35. Chapter 35

**THEODORA**

“One more time,” Annie said to Leo, who was in mental anguish. “Exactly what happened?”

Leo slumped against the mast. All around him, the ship was in shambles. The aft crossbows were piles of kindling. The foresail was tattered. The satellite array that powered the onboard Internet and TV was blown to bits, which had really made Coach Hedge mad. Their bronze dragon figurehead, Festus, was coughing up smoke like he had a hairball.  
  
He choked back a sob. “I don’t know. It’s fuzzy.”  
  
Too many people were looking at him: Annabeth (Leo hated to make her angry; that girl scared him), Coach Hedge with his furry goat legs, his orange polo shirt, and his baseball bat (did he have to carry that everywhere?), and the newcomer, Frank.

I sensed the amount of people looking at him scared him - he hated making Annie angry, Hedge had his baseball bat, and Frank had just turned into a dragon.  
  
Annabeth crossed her arms. “You mean you don’t remember?”  
  
“I... I remember, but it’s like I was watching myself do things. I couldn’t control it.”  
  
Coach Hedge tapped his bat against the deck.  
  
“Look, kid,” Hedge said, “you blew up some stuff. You attacked some Romans. Awesome! Excellent! But did you have to knock out the satellite channels? I was right in the middle of watching a cage match.”  
  
“Coach,” Annabeth said, “why don’t you make sure all the fires are out?”  
  
“But I already did that.”  
  
“Do it again.”  
  
The satyr trudged off, muttering under his breath. Even Hedge wasn’t crazy enough to defy Annabeth.  
  
Annie knelt next to Leo.  
  
“Leo,” she said calmly, “did Octavian trick you somehow? Did he frame you, or-”  
  
“No.” Leo could have lied and blamed that stupid Roman, but he didn’t. “The guy was a jerk, but he didn’t fire on the camp. I did.”  
  
The new kid, Frank, scowled. “On purpose?”  
  
“No!” Leo squeezed his eyes shut. “Well, yes... I mean, I didn’t want to. But at the same time, I felt like I wanted to. Something was making me do it. There was this cold feeling inside me-”  
  
“A cold feeling.” Annabeth’s tone changed. She sounded almost... scared.  
  
“Yeah,” Leo said. “Why?”  
  
From belowdecks, Percy called up, “Annabeth, we need you.”  
  
Oh, gods, I thought. Please let Jason be okay.  
  
As soon as we’d gotten on board, Piper had taken Jason below. The cut on his head had looked pretty bad. I had wanted to hear Leo out first, but if Jason didn't make it...

I forced myself not to think about it.  
  
“Hey, Dor, don't worry. He’ll be fine.” Annabeth’s expression softened at me. “Frank, I’ll be back. Just... watch Leo. Please.”  
  
Frank nodded, and Annie and I went to see Jason.

"Gods, Jase..." Piper gave me a sympathetic look as I entered the room. Jason was looking sickly pale, almost as pale as I was. I put my hand on his cheek, and he was burning up.

"I gave him a little ambrosia, but I didn't want to risk more than this." I managed a smile, though it must've looked pained. "Thanks, Pipes. The, uh, ship is kind of half blown up, by the way. We're probably gonna stop for repairs soon." She nodded, and Annie left the room. Percy gave me a side hug and joined her.

The ship stumbled, and I looked out of the window. We'd landed in a lake, but I couldn't see any nymphs. I shrugged it off and rejoined Jason's side, taking his hand.

After a minute or two, Leo passed by, a girl with beautiful hair in tow. Piper placed her finger on her lips, signaling for quiet, and gestured for me to follow them. I squeezed Jason's hand and left, not allowing myself to look over my shoulder - I knew it'd break me.  
  
Leo had made the lounge as nice as possible. The cupboard was lined with magic cups and plates from Camp Half-Blood, which would fill up with whatever food or drink you wanted on command. There was also a magical ice chest with canned drinks, perfect for picnics ashore. The chairs were cushy recliners with thousand-finger massage, built-in headphones, and sword and drink holders for all your demigod kicking-back needs. There were no windows, but the walls were enchanted to show real-time footage from Camp Half-Blood - the beach, the forest, the strawberry fields - although it made me kind of homesick.  
  
Percy was staring longingly at a sunset view of Half-Blood Hill, where the Golden Fleece glittered in the branches of the tall pine tree.  
  
“So we’ve landed,” Percy said. “What now?”  
  
Frank plucked on his bowstring. “Figure out the prophecy? I mean... that was a prophecy Ella spoke, right? From the Sibylline Books?”  
  
“The what?” Leo asked.  
  
Frank explained how their harpy friend was freakishly good at memorizing books. At some point in the past, she’d inhaled a collection of ancient prophecies that had supposedly been destroyed around the fall of Rome.  
  
“That’s why you didn’t tell the Romans,” I guessed. “You didn’t want them to get hold of her.”  
  
Percy kept staring at the image of Half-Blood Hill. “Ella’s sensitive. She was a captive when we found her. I just didn’t want...” He made a fist. “It doesn’t matter now. I sent Tyson an Iris-message, told him to take Ella to Camp Half-Blood. They’ll be safe there.”

Annabeth laced her fingers. “Let me think about the prophecy - but right now we have more immediate problems. We have to get this ship fixed. Leo, what do we need?”  
  
“The easiest thing is tar.” Leo looked like he was glad to change the subject. “We can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or someplace like that. Also, Celestial bronze and lime. According to Festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here.”  
  
“We’ll have to hurry,” Hazel warned. “If I know Octavian, he’s searching for us with his auguries. The Romans will send a strike force after us. It’s a matter of honor.”  
  
Leo fidgeted with his hands. “Guys... I don’t know what happened. Honestly, I-”  
  
Annabeth raised her hand. “We’ve been talking. We agree it couldn’t have been you, Leo. That cold feeling you mentioned... I felt it too. It must have been some sort of magic, either Octavian or Gaea or one of her minions. But until we understand what happened-”  
  
Frank grunted. “How can we be sure it won’t happen again?”  
  
“I’m fine now,” Leo insisted. “Maybe we should use the buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone. We can leave Dor and Coach Hedge on board with Jason. Send one team into town to get tar. Another team can go after the bronze and the lime.”  
  
“Split up?” Percy said. “That sounds like a really bad idea.”  
  
“It’ll be quicker,” Hazel put in. “Besides, there’s a reason a quest is usually limited to three demigods, right?”  
  
Annabeth raised her eyebrows, as if reappraising Hazel’s merits. “You’re right. The same reason we needed the Argo II... outside camp, eight demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. The ship is designed to conceal and protect us. We should be safe enough on board; but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn’t travel in groups larger than three. No sense alerting more of Gaea’s minions than we have to.”  
  
Percy still didn’t look happy about it, but he took her hand. “As long as you’re my buddy, I’m good.”  
  
Hazel smiled. “Oh, that’s easy. Frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! Could you do it again to fly Annabeth and Percy into town for the tar?”  
  
Frank opened his mouth like he wanted to protest. “I... I suppose. But what about you?”  
  
“I’ll ride Arion with Sa- with Leo, here.” She had so much nervous, but I shrugged it off. “We’ll get the bronze and the lime. We can all meet back here by dark.”  
  
“Leo,” said Annabeth, “if we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?”  
  
“With luck, just a few hours.”  
  
“Fine,” she decided. “We’ll meet you back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. We could use some good luck. That doesn’t mean we’ll get it.”

* * * * *

I could sense Piper's nervousness from two rooms over. I heard Gleeson humming some military song - his door was nearly always opened, so he could hear as much as possible.

Piper feared she hadn't tried hard enough. She was worried she hadn't put in her best effort.  
  
I felt her fear spike for a moment, and I forced myself not to worry. She was in her room because she wanted to be alone right now, and I needed to respect that.

I kept burying the fear Jason would lose his memories again, but this time, they wouldn't come back. He'd been in such anguish the last time, and I didn't want that for him again.  
  
“Hey,” Jason croaked. My head snapped up.

"You're awake!"  
  
“Don’t sound so surprised.” Jason touched his bandaged head and frowned. “What... what happened? I remember the explosions, and-”  
  
“You remember who I am?”  
  
Jason tried to laugh, but it turned into a painful wince. “Last I checked, you were my awesome and totally badass girlfriend Theo. Unless something has changed since I was out?”

I smiled and helped him sit up. I slowly gave him some nectar while telling him what happened. I was just getting to how Leo was planning on fixing the ship when we heard horse hooves clomping across the deck over our heads.  
  
Moments later, Leo and Hazel stumbled to a stop in the doorway, carrying a large sheet of hammered bronze between them.  
  
“Gods of Olympus.” I stared at Leo. “What happened to you?”  
  
His hair was greased back. He had welding goggles on his forehead, a lipstick mark on his cheek, tattoos all over his arms, and a T-shirt that read HOT STUFF, BAD BOY, and TEAM LEO. Piper came rushing to us, and almost bumped into Leo. She raised a single eyebrow at him.  
  
“Long story,” he said. “Others back?”  
  
“Not yet,” I said.  
  
Leo cursed. Then he noticed Jason sitting up, and his face brightened. “Hey, man! Glad you’re better. I’ll be in the engine room.”  
  
He ran off with the sheet of bronze, leaving Hazel and Pipes in the doorway.  
  
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Team Leo?”  
  
“We met Narcissus,” Hazel said, which didn’t really explain much. “Also Nemesis, the revenge goddess.”  
  
Jason sighed. “I miss all the fun.” I smiled softly and squeezed his hand.  
  
On the deck above, something went THUMP, as if a heavy creature had landed. Annabeth and Percy came running down the hall. Percy was toting a steaming five-gallon plastic bucket that smelled horrible. Annabeth had a patch of black sticky stuff in her hair. Percy’s shirt was covered in it.  
  
“Roofing tar?” Piper guessed.  
  
Frank stumbled up behind them, which made the hallway pretty jam-packed with demigods. Frank had a big smear of the black sludge down his face.  
  
“Ran into some tar monsters,” Annabeth said. “Hey, Jason, glad you’re awake. Hazel, where’s Leo?”  
  
She pointed down. “Engine room.”  
  
Suddenly the entire ship listed to port. The demigods stumbled. Percy almost spilled his bucket of tar.  
  
“Uh, what was that?” he demanded.  
  
“Oh…” Hazel looked embarrassed. “We may have angered the nymphs who live in this lake. Like... all of them.”

“Great.” Percy handed the bucket of tar to Frank and Annabeth. “You guys help Leo. I’ll hold off the water spirits as long as I can.”  
  
“On it!” Frank promised.  
  
The three of them ran off, leaving Hazel and Piper at the cabin door - again. The ship listed again, and Hazel hugged her stomach like she was going to be sick.  
  
“I’ll just...” She swallowed, pointed weakly down the passageway, and ran off.  
  
Jason Piper, and I stayed below as the ship rocked back and forth.

Waves crashed against the hull as angry voices came from above deck - Percy shouting, Coach Hedge yelling at the lake. Festus the figurehead breathed fire several times. Down the hall, Hazel moaned miserably in her cabin. In the engine room below, it sounded like Leo and the others were doing an Irish line dance with anvils tied to their feet. After what seemed like hours, the engine began to hum. The oars creaked and groaned, and I felt the ship lift into the air.  
  
The rocking and shaking stopped. The ship became quiet except for the drone of machinery. Finally Leo emerged from the engine room. He was caked in sweat, lime dust, and tar. His T-shirt looked like it had been caught in an escalator and chewed to shreds. The TEAM LEO on his chest now read: AM LEO. But he grinned like a madman and announced that they were safely under way.  
  
“Meeting in the mess hall, one hour,” he said. “Crazy day, huh?”  
  
After everyone had cleaned up, Coach Hedge took the helm and the demigods gathered below for dinner. It was the first time they’d all sat down together - just the eight of us. Maybe our presence should’ve reassured me, but seeing all of us in one place only reminded me that the Second Great Prophecy was unfolding at last. No more waiting for Leo to finish the ship. No more easy days at Camp Half-Blood, pretending the future was still a long way off. We were under way, with a bunch of angry Romans behind us and the ancient lands ahead. The giants would be waiting. Gaea was rising. And unless we succeeded in this quest, the world would be destroyed.  
  
The others must’ve felt it too. The tension in the mess hall was like an electrical storm brewing, which was totally possible, considering Percy’s and Jason’s powers. In an awkward moment, the two boys tried to sit in the same chair at the head of the table. Sparks literally flew from Jason’s hands. After a brief silent standoff, like they were both thinking, _Seriously, dude?_ , they ceded the chair to Annabeth and sat at opposite sides of the table.  
  
The crew compared notes on what had happened in Salt Lake City, but even Leo’s ridiculous story about how he tricked Narcissus wasn’t enough to cheer up the group.  
  
“So where to now?” Leo asked with a mouthful of pizza. “I did a quick repair job to get us out of the lake, but there’s still a lot of damage. We should really put down again and fix things right before we head across the Atlantic.”  
  
Percy was eating a piece of pie, which was completely blue - filling, crust, even the whipped cream. I smiled at it, but it didn't last. “We need to put some distance between us and Camp Jupiter,” he said. “Frank spotted some eagles over Salt Lake City. We figure the Romans aren’t far behind us.”  
  
That didn’t improve the mood around the table. Piper spoke up. “I don’t suppose we should go back and try to reason with the Romans? Maybe - maybe I didn’t try hard enough with the charmspeak.”  
  
I put my hand on her arm. “It wasn’t your fault, Pipes. Or Leo’s,” I added quickly. “Whatever happened, it was Gaea’s doing, to drive the two camps apart.”  
  
“Maybe if we could explain that, though-”  
  
“With no proof?” Annabeth asked. “And no idea what really happened? I appreciate what you’re saying, Piper. I don’t want the Romans on our bad side, but until we understand what Gaea’s up to, going back is suicide.”  
  
“She’s right,” Hazel said. She still looked a little queasy from seasickness, but she was trying to eat a few saltine crackers. The rim of her plate was embedded with rubies, and I was pretty sure they hadn’t been there at the beginning of the meal. “Reyna might listen, but Octavian won’t. The Romans have honor to think about. They’ve been attacked. They’ll shoot first and ask questions post hac.”  
  
I stared at my own dinner. The magical plates could conjure up a great selection of vegetarian stuff. I really liked the _hutspot_ \- a Dutch dish my dad used to make me, though it was typically served with meat in the Netherlands - it reminded me of when he'd tell me stories about his childhood there.  
  
“You’re right,” Piper decided. “We have to keep going. Not just because of the Romans. We have to hurry.”  
  
Hazel nodded. “Nemesis said we have only six days until Nico dies and Rome is destroyed.”  
  
Jason frowned. “You mean Rome Rome, not New Rome?”  
  
“I think,” Hazel said. “But if so, that’s not much time.”  
  
“Why six days?” Percy wondered. “And how are they going to destroy Rome?”  
  
No one answered until Piper spoke again.  
  
“There’s more,” she said. “I’ve been seeing some things in my knife.”  
  
Frank froze with a forkful of spaghetti halfway to his mouth. “Things such as...?”  
  
“They don’t really make sense,” Piper said, “just garbled images, but I saw two giants, dressed alike. Maybe twins.”  
  
Annabeth stared at the magical video feed from Camp Half-Blood on the wall. Right now it showed the living room in the Big House: a cozy fire on the hearth and Seymour, the stuffed leopard head, snoring contentedly above the mantel.  
  
“Twins, like in Ella’s prophecy,” Annabeth said. “If we could figure out those lines, it might help.”  
  
“Wisdom’s daughter walks alone,” Percy said. “The Mark of Athena burns through Rome. Annabeth, that’s got to mean you. Juno told me... well, she said you had a hard task ahead of you in Rome. She said she doubted you could do it. But I know she’s wrong.”  
  
Annabeth took a long breath. “Reyna was about to tell me something right before the ship fired on us. She said there was an old legend among the Roman praetors - something that had to do with Athena. She said it might be the reason Greeks and Romans could never get along.”  
  
Leo and Hazel exchanged nervous looks.  
  
“Nemesis mentioned something similar,” Leo said. “She talked about an old score that had to be settled-”  
  
“The one thing that might bring the gods’ two natures into harmony,” Hazel recalled. “‘An old wrong finally avenged.’”  
  
Percy drew a frowny face in his blue whipped cream. “I was only a praetor for about two hours. Jason, you ever hear a legend like that?”  
  
Jason was holding my hand, but his fingers had turned clammy.  
  
“I... uh, I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ll give it some thought.”  
  
Percy narrowed his eyes. “You’re not sure?”  
  
Jason didn’t respond. I wanted to ask him what was wrong. I could tell he didn’t want to discuss this old legend. I caught his eye, and he pleaded silently, _Later_.  
  
Hazel broke the silence. “What about the other lines?” She turned her ruby-encrusted plate. “ _Twins snuff out the angel’s breath, Who holds the key to endless death_.”  
  
“ _Giants’ bane stands gold and pale_ ,” Frank added, “ _Won through pain from a woven jail_.”  
  
“Giants’ bane,” Leo said. “Anything that’s a giants’ bane is good for us, right? That’s probably what we need to find. If it can help the gods get their schizophrenic act together, that’s good.”  
  
Percy nodded. “We can’t kill the giants without the help of the gods.”  
  
Jason turned to Frank and Hazel. “I thought you guys killed that one giant in Alaska without a god’s help, just the two of you.”  
  
“Alcyoneus was a special case,” Frank said. “He was only immortal in the territory where he was reborn - Alaska. But not in Canada. I wish I could kill all the giants by dragging them across the border from Alaska into Canada, but...” He shrugged. “Percy’s right, we’ll need the gods.”  
  
I gazed at the walls. I really wished Leo hadn’t enchanted them with images of Camp Half-Blood. It was like a doorway to home that I could never go through. I watched the hearth of Hestia burning in the middle of the green as the cabins turned off their lights for curfew.  
  
I wondered how the Roman demigods, Frank and Hazel, felt about those images. They’d never even been to Camp Half-Blood. Did it seem alien to them, or unfair that Camp Jupiter wasn’t represented? Did it make them miss their own home?  
  
The other lines of the prophecy turned in my mind. What was a woven jail? How could twins snuff out an angel’s breath? The key to endless death didn’t sound very cheerful, either.  
  
“So...” Leo pushed his chair away from the table. “First things first, I guess. We’ll have to put down in the morning to finish repairs.”  
  
“Someplace close to a city,” Annabeth suggested, “in case we need supplies. But somewhere out of the way, so the Romans will have trouble finding us. Any ideas?”  
  
“Well,” Piper ventured, “how do you guys feel about Kansas?”


	36. Chapter 36

**PIPER**

I had trouble falling asleep.  
  
Coach Hedge spent the first hour after curfew doing his nightly duty, walking up and down the passageway yelling, “Lights out! Settle down! Try to sneak out, and I’ll smack you back to Long Island!”  
  
He banged his baseball bat against a cabin door whenever he heard a noise, shouting at everyone to go to sleep, which made it impossible for anyone to go to sleep. I figured this was the most fun the satyr had had since he’d pretended to be a gym teacher at the Wilderness School.  
  
I stared at the bronze beams on the ceiling. My cabin was pretty cozy. Leo had programmed our quarters to adjust automatically to the occupant’s preferred temperature, so it was never too cold or too hot. The mattress and the pillows were stuffed with pegasus down (no pegasi were harmed in the making of these products, Leo had assured us), so they were über-comfortable. A bronze lantern hung from the ceiling, glowing at whatever brightness I wished. The lantern’s sides were perforated with pinholes, so at night glimmering constellations drifted across her walls.

I had so many things on my mind, I thought I’d never sleep. But there was something peaceful about the rocking of the boat and the drone of the aerial oars as we scooped through the sky.  
  
Finally my eyelids got heavy, and I drifted off.  
  
It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before I woke to the breakfast bell.  
  
“Yo, Piper!” Leo knocked on the door. “We’re landing!”  
  
“Landing?” I sat up groggily.  
  
Leo opened my door and poked his head in. He had his hand over his eyes, which would’ve been a nice gesture if he hadn’t been peeking through his fingers. “You decent?”  
  
“Leo!”  
  
“Sorry.” He grinned. “Hey, nice Power Ranger jammies.”  
  
“They are not Power Rangers! They’re Cherokee eagles!”  
  
“Yeah, sure. Anyway, we’re setting down a few miles outside Topeka, as requested. And, um...” He glanced out in the passageway, then leaned inside again. “Thanks for not hating me, about blowing up the Romans yesterday.”  
  
Piper rubbed her eyes. The feast in New Rome had been only yesterday? “That’s okay, Leo. You weren’t in control of yourself.”  
  
“Yeah, but still... you didn’t have to stick up for me.”  
  
“Are you kidding? You’re like the annoying little brother I never had. Of course I’ll stick up for you.”  
  
“Uh... thanks?”  
  
From above, Coach Hedge yelled, “Thar she blows! Kansas, ahoy!”  
  
“Holy Hephaestus,” Leo muttered. “He really needs to work on his shipspeak. I’d better get above deck.”  
  
By the time I had showered, changed, and grabbed a bagel from the mess hall, I could hear the ship’s landing gear extending. I climbed on deck and joined the others as the Argo II settled in the middle of a field of sunflowers. The oars retracted. The gangplank lowered itself.  
  
The morning air smelled of irrigation, warm plants, and fertilized earth. Not a bad smell. It reminded me of Grandpa Tom’s place in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, back on the reservation.  
  
Percy was the first to notice me. He smiled in greeting, which for some reason surprised Piper. He was wearing faded jeans and a fresh orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, as if he’d never been away from the Greek side. The new clothes had probably helped his mood - and of course the fact that he was standing at the rail with his arm around Annabeth, chatting with her and Dor.  
  
I was happy to see Annabeth with a sparkle in her eyes, because I had never had a better friend, besides Dor. For months, Annabeth had been tormenting herself, her every waking moment consumed with the search for Percy. Now, despite the dangerous quest they were facing, at least she had her boyfriend back.  
  
“So!” Annabeth plucked the bagel out of my hand and took a bite, but that didn’t bother me. Back at camp, we’d had a running joke about stealing each other’s breakfast. “Here we are. What’s the plan?”  
  
“I want to check out the highway,” I said. “Find the sign that says Topeka 32.”  
  
Leo spun his Wii controller in a circle, and the sails lowered themselves. “We shouldn’t be far,” he said. “Festus and I calculated the landing as best we could. What do you expect to find at the mile marker?”  
  
I explained what I’d seen in the knife - the man in purple with a goblet. I kept quiet about the other images, though, like the vision of Percy, Jason, and myself drowning. I wasn’t sure what it meant, anyway; and everyone seemed in such better spirits this morning, I didn’t want to ruin the mood.  
  
“Purple shirt?” Jason asked. “Vines on his hat? Sounds like Bacchus.”  
  
“Dionysus,” Percy muttered. “If we came all the way to Kansas to see Mr. D-”  
  
“Bacchus isn’t so bad,” Jason said. “I don’t like his followers much...”  
  
I shuddered. Jason, Dor, Leo, and I had had an encounter with the maenads a few months ago and almost gotten torn to pieces.  
  
“But the god himself is okay,” Jason continued. “I did him a favor once up in the wine country.”  
  
Percy looked appalled. “Whatever, man. Maybe he’s better on the Roman side. But why would he be hanging around in Kansas? Didn’t Zeus order the gods to cease all contact with mortals?”  
  
Frank grunted. The big guy was wearing a blue tracksuit this morning, like he was ready to go for a jog in the sunflowers.  
  
“The gods haven’t been very good at following that order,” he noted. “Besides, if the gods have gone schizophrenic like Hazel said-"  
  
“And Leo said,” added Leo.  
  
Frank scowled at him. “Then who knows what’s going on with the Olympians? Could be some pretty bad stuff out there.”  
  
“Sounds dangerous!” Leo agreed cheerfully. “Well... you guys have fun. I’ve got to finish repairs on the hull. Coach Hedge is gonna work on the broken crossbows. And, uh, Annabeth - I could really use your help. You’re the only other person who even sort of understands engineering.”  
  
Annabeth looked apologetically at Percy. “He’s right. I should stay and help.”  
  
“I’ll come back to you.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Promise.”  
  
They were so easy together, it made my heart ache.  
  
I'd been getting along great with Thalia, whenever she visited camp or we iris-messaged. However, I didn't know how far her vows went, whether they included non-romantic partnership, and Thalia was very serious about the Hunt. I wondered if I would ever be able to break through that barrier.  
  
Frank slid his bow off his shoulder and propped it against the rail. “I think I should turn into a crow or something and fly around, keep an eye out for Roman eagles.”  
  
“Why a crow?” Leo asked. “Man, if you can turn into a dragon, why don’t you just turn into a dragon every time? That’s the coolest.”  
  
Frank’s face looked like it was being infused with cranberry juice. “That’s like asking why you don’t bench-press your maximum weight every time you lift. Because it’s hard, and you’d hurt yourself. Turning into a dragon isn’t easy.”  
  
“Oh.” Leo nodded. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t lift weights.”  
  
“Yeah. Well, maybe you should consider it, Mr.-”  
  
Hazel stepped between them.  
  
“I’ll help you, Frank,” she said, shooting Leo an evil look. “I can summon Arion and scout around below.”  
  
“Sure,” Frank said, still glaring at Leo. “Yeah, thanks.”  
  
I wondered what was going on with those three. The boys showing off for Hazel and razzing each other - that I understood. But it almost seemed like Hazel and Leo had a history. So far as I knew, they’d met for the first time just yesterday. I wondered if something else had happened on their trip to the Great Salt Lake - something they hadn’t mentioned.  
  
Hazel turned to Percy. “Just be careful when you go out there. Lots of fields, lots of crops. Could be karpoi on the loose.”  
  
“Karpoi?” Dor asked.  
  
“Grain spirits,” Hazel said. “You don’t want to meet them.”  
  
I didn’t see how a grain spirit could be so bad, but Hazel’s tone convinced me not to ask.  
  
“That leaves four of us to check on the mile marker,” Percy said. “Me, Dor, Jason, and Piper. I don't know for sure if the four of us going is a good idea, but Dor's a child of Lyssa - she's often depicted as one of his followers. He has a soft spot for her. Honestly,I’m not psyched about seeing Mr. D again. That guy is a pain. But, Jason, if you’re on better terms with him-”  
  
“Yeah,” Jason said. “If we find him, I’ll talk to him. Piper, it’s your vision. You should take the lead.”  
  
I shivered. I’d seen the three of us drowning in that dark well. Was Kansas where it would happen? That didn’t seem right, but I couldn’t be sure. I also hadn't seen Dor in the vision, which had to mean it at least wouldn't happen now, right?.  
  
“Of course,” I said, trying to sound upbeat. “Let’s find the highway.”  
  
Leo had said they were close. His idea of “close” needed some work.  
  
After trudging half a mile through hot fields, getting bitten by mosquitoes and whacked in the face with scratchy sunflowers, we finally reached the road. An old billboard for Bubba’s Gas ’n’ Grub indicated they were still forty miles from the first Topeka exit.  
  
“Correct my math,” Percy said, “but doesn’t that mean we have eight miles to walk?”  
  
Jason peered both ways down the deserted road. He looked better today, thanks to the magical healing of ambrosia and nectar. His color was back to normal, and the scar on his forehead had almost vanished. The new gladius that Hera had given him last winter hung at his belt. Most guys would look pretty awkward walking around with a scabbard strapped to their jeans, but on Jason it seemed perfectly natural.  
  
“No cars...” he said. “But I guess we wouldn’t want to hitchhike.”  
  
“No,” Piper agreed, gazing nervously down the highway. “We’ve already spent too much time going overland. The earth is Gaea’s territory.”  
  
“Hmm...” Jason snapped his fingers. “I can call a friend for a ride.”  
  
Percy raised his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? Me too. Let’s see whose friend gets here first.”  
  
Jason whistled. I knew what he was doing, but he’d succeeded in summoning Tempest only three times since we’d met the storm spirit at the Wolf House last winter. Today, the sky was so blue, I didn’t see how it could work.  
  
Percy simply closed his eyes and concentrated.  
  
Piper hadn’t studied him up close before. After hearing so much at Camp Half-Blood about Percy Jackson this and Percy Jackson that, I thought he looked... well, unimpressive, especially next to Jason. Percy was more slender, about an inch shorter, with slightly longer, much darker hair.  
  
He wasn’t really my type, though then again, neither was Jason (or any boy for that matter). If I'd seen him in the mall somewhere, I probably would’ve thought he was a skater - cute in a scruffy way, a little on the wild side, definitely a troublemaker. I would have steered clear. I had enough trouble in my life. But I could see why Annabeth liked him, and I could definitely see why Percy needed Annabeth in his life. If anybody could keep a guy like that under control, it was Annabeth.  
  
Thunder crackled in the clear sky.  
  
Jason smiled. “Soon.”  
  
“Too late.” Percy pointed east, where a black winged shape was spiraling toward them. At first, I thought it might be Frank in crow form. Then I realized it was much too big to be a bird.  
  
“A black pegasus?” she said. “Never seen one like that.”  
  
The winged stallion came in for a landing. He trotted over to Percy and nuzzled his face, neighed at Dor, and then turned his head inquisitively toward Piper and Jason.  
  
“Blackjack,” Percy said, “this is Piper and Jason. They’re friends.”  
  
The horse nickered.  
  
“Uh, maybe later,” Percy answered.  
  
I had heard that Percy could speak to horses, being the son of the horse lord Poseidon, but I’d never seen it in action.

“What does Blackjack want?” she asked.  
  
“Donuts,” Dor said. “Always donuts. He can carry all four of us if-”  
  
Suddenly the air turned cold. My ears popped. About fifty yards away, a miniature cyclone three stories tall tore across the tops of the sunflowers like a scene from The Wizard of Oz. It touched down on the road next to Jason and took the form of a horse - a misty steed with lightning flickering through its body.  
  
“Tempest,” Jason said, grinning broadly. “Long time, my friend.”  
  
The storm spirit reared and whinnied. Blackjack backed up skittishly.  
  
“Easy, boy,” Percy said. “He’s a friend too.” He gave Jason an impressed look. “Nice ride, Grace.”  
  
Jason shrugged. “I made friends with him during our fight at the Wolf House. He’s a free spirit, literally, but once in a while he agrees to help me.”  
  
Percy and Jason climbed on their respective horses. I had never been comfortable with Tempest. Riding full gallop on a beast that could vaporize at any moment made me a bit nervous. I accepted Percy's hand and climbed on top of Blackjack behind him as Dor got on Tempest's back.  
  
Tempest raced down the road with Blackjack soaring overhead. Fortunately, we didn’t pass any cars, or we might have caused a wreck. In no time, we arrived at the thirty-two-mile marker, which looked exactly as I had seen it in her vision.  
  
Blackjack landed. Both horses pawed the asphalt. Neither looked pleased to have stopped so suddenly, just when they’d found their stride.  
  
Blackjack whinnied.  
  
“You’re right,” Percy said. “No sign of the wine dude.”  
  
“I beg your pardon?” said a voice from the fields.  
  
Tempest turned so quickly, Dor almost fell off.  
  
The wheat parted, and the man from my vision stepped into view. He wore a wide-brimmed hat wreathed in grapevines, a purple short-sleeved shirt, khaki shorts, and Birkenstocks with white socks. He looked maybe thirty, with a slight potbelly, like a frat boy who hadn’t yet realized college was over.  
  
“Did someone just call me the wine dude?” he asked in a lazy drawl. “It’s Bacchus, please. Or Mr. Bacchus. Or Lord Bacchus. Or, sometimes, Oh-My-Gods-Please-Don’t-Kill-Me, Lord Bacchus.”  
  
Percy urged Blackjack forward, though the pegasus didn’t seem happy about it.  
  
“You look different,” Percy told the god. “Skinnier. Your hair is longer. And your shirt isn’t so loud.”  
  
The wine god squinted up at him. “What in blazes are you talking about? Who are you, and where is Ceres?”  
  
“Uh... what series?”  
  
“I think he means Ceres,” Jason said. “The goddess of agriculture. You’d call her Demeter.” He nodded respectfully to the god. “Lord Bacchus, do you remember me? I helped you with that missing leopard in Sonoma.”  
  
Bacchus scratched his stubbly chin. “Ah... yes. John Green.”  
  
“Jason Grace.”  
  
“Whatever,” the god said. “Did Ceres send you, then?”  
  
“No, Lord Bacchus,” Jason said. “Were you expecting to meet her here?”  
  
The god snorted. “Well, I didn’t come to Kansas to party, my boy. Ceres asked me here for a council of war. What with Gaea rising, the crops are withering. Droughts are spreading. The karpoi are in revolt. Even my grapes aren’t safe. Ceres wanted a united front in the plant war.”  
  
“The plant war,” Percy said. “You’re going to arm all the little grapes with tiny assault rifles?”  
  
The god narrowed his eyes. “Have we met?”  
  
“At Camp Half-Blood,” Percy said, “I know you as Mr. D - Dionysus.”  
  
“Agh!” Bacchus winced and pressed his hands to his temples. For a moment, his image flickered. I saw a different person - fatter, dumpier, in a much louder, leopard-patterned shirt. Then Bacchus returned to being Bacchus. “Stop that!” he demanded. “Stop thinking about me in Greek!”  
  
Percy blinked. “Uh, but-”  
  
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to stay focused? Splitting headaches all the time! I never know what I’m doing or where I’m going! Constantly grumpy!”  
  
“That sounds pretty normal for you,” Percy said.  
  
The god’s nostrils flared. One of the grape leaves on his hat burst into flame. “If we know each other from that other camp, it’s a wonder I haven’t already turned you into a dolphin.”  
  
“It was discussed,” Percy assured him. “I think you were just too lazy to do it.” Dor stifled a giggle.  
  
I had been watching with horrified fascination, the way I might watch a car wreck in progress. Now I realized Percy was not making things better, and Annabeth wasn’t around to rein him in. I figured my friend would never forgive me if I brought Percy back transformed into a sea mammal.  
  
“Lord Bacchus!” Dor spoke up, slipping off Tempest’s back.  
  
“Theo, careful,” Jason said.  
  
She shot him a warning glance: _I’ve got this_.  
  
“Sorry to trouble you, my lord,” she told the god, “but actually we came here to get your advice." He gave her a once-over and his form flickered again.

"Theodora Castellan. You might be Lyssa's daughter, my child, but I am Roman. I would advise you not to agitate me, as it would be a pity if I disintegrated you for giving me more headaches. Greatness still lies ahead of you."

"Please, we need your wisdom.” I used my most agreeable tone, pouring respect into the charmspeak.  
  
The god frowned, but the purple glow faded in his eyes. “You’re well-spoken, girl. Advice, eh? Very well. I would avoid karaoke. Really, theme parties in general are out. In these austere times, people are looking for a simple, low-key affair, with locally produced organic snacks and-”  
  
“Not about parties,” I interrupted. “Although that’s incredibly useful advice, Lord Bacchus. We were hoping you’d help us on our quest.”  
  
I explained about the Argo II and our voyage to stop the giants from awakening Gaea. I told him what Nemesis had said: that in six days, Rome would be destroyed. I described the vision reflected in the knife, where Bacchus offered her a silver goblet.  
  
“Silver goblet?” The god didn’t sound very excited. He grabbed a Diet Pepsi from nowhere and popped the top of the can.  
  
“You drink Diet Coke,” Percy said.  
  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bacchus snapped. “As to this vision of the goblet, young lady, I have nothing for you to drink unless you want a Pepsi. Jupiter has put me under strict orders to avoid giving wine to minors. Bothersome, but there you have it. As for the giants, I know them well. I fought in the first Giant War, you know.”  
  
“You can fight?” Percy asked.  
  
I wished he hadn’t sounded so incredulous.  
  
Dionysus snarled. His Diet Pepsi transformed into a five-foot staff wreathed in ivy, topped with a pinecone.  
  
“A thyrsus!” I said, hoping to distract the god before he whacked Percy on the head. I’d seen weapons like that before in the hands of crazy nymphs, and wasn’t thrilled to see one again, but I tried to sound impressed. “Oh, what a mighty weapon!”  
  
“Indeed,” Bacchus agreed. “I’m glad someone in your group is smart. The pinecone is a fearsome tool of destruction! I was a demigod myself in the first Giant War, you know. The son of Jupiter!”  
  
Jason flinched. Probably he wasn’t thrilled to be reminded that the Wine Dude was technically his big brother.  
  
Bacchus swung his staff through the air, though his potbelly almost threw him off balance. “Of course that was long before I invented wine and became an immortal. I fought side by side with the gods and some other demigod... Harry Cleese, I think.”  
  
“Heracles?” I suggested politely.  
  
“Whatever,” Bacchus said. “Anyway, I killed the giant Ephialtes and his brother Otis. Horrible boors, those two. Pinecone in the face for both of them!”  
  
I held my breath. All at once, several ideas came together in my head - the visions in the knife, the lines of the prophecy we’d been discussing the night before. I felt like I used to when I was scuba diving with my father, and he would wipe my mask for me underwater. Suddenly, everything was clearer.  
  
“Lord Bacchus,” I said, trying to control the nervousness in her voice. “Those two giants, Ephialtes and Otis... would they happen to be twins?”  
  
“Hmm?” The god seemed distracted by his thyrsus-swinging, but he nodded. “Yes, twins. That’s right.”  
  
I turned to Dor. I could tell she was following my thoughts: _Twins snuff out the angel’s breath._  
  
In the blade of Katoptris, I’d seen two giants in yellow robes, lifting a jar from a deep pit.  
  
“That’s why we’re here,” I told the god. “You’re part of our quest!”  
  
Bacchus frowned. “I’m sorry, my girl. I’m not a demigod anymore. I don’t do quests.”  
  
“But giants can only be killed by heroes and gods working together,” I insisted. “You’re a god now, and the two giants we have to fight are Ephialtes and Otis. I think... I think they’re waiting for us in Rome. They’re going to destroy the city somehow. The silver goblet I saw in my vision - maybe it’s meant as a symbol for your help. You have to help us kill the giants!”  
  
Bacchus glared at her, and I realized she’d chosen her words poorly.  
  
“My girl,” he said coldly, “I don’t have to do anything. Besides, I only help those who give me proper tribute, which no one has managed to do in many, many centuries.”  
  
Blackjack whinnied uneasily.  
  
I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t like the sound of tribute. I remembered the maenads, the crazed followers of Bacchus, who would tear up nonbelievers with their bare hands. And that was when they were in a good mood.  
  
Percy voiced the question that I was too scared to ask. “What kind of tribute?”  
  
Bacchus waved his hand dismissively. “Nothing you could handle, insolent Greek. But I will give you some free advice, since this girl does have some manners. Seek out Gaea’s son, Phorcys. He always hated his mother, not that I can blame him. He didn’t have much use for his siblings the twins, either. You’ll find him in the city they named after that heroine - Atalanta.”  
  
Piper hesitated. “You mean Atlanta?”  
  
“That’s the one.”  
  
“But this Phorcys,” Jason said. “Is he a giant? A Titan?”  
  
Bacchus laughed. “Neither. Seek out the salt water.”  
  
“Salt water...” Percy said. “In Atlanta?”  
  
“Yes,” Bacchus said. “Are you hard of hearing? If anyone can give you insight on Gaea and the twins, it’s Phorcys. Just watch out for him.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Jason asked.  
  
The god glanced at the sun, which had climbed almost to high noon. “It’s unlike Ceres to be late, unless she sensed something dangerous in this area. Or...”  
  
The god’s face suddenly went slack. “Or a trap. Well, I must be going! And if I were you, I’d do the same!”  
  
“Lord Bacchus, wait!” Jason protested.  
  
The god shimmered and disappeared with a sound like a soda-can top being popped.

The wind rustled through the sunflowers. The horses paced in agitation. Despite the dry, hot day, I shivered. A cold feeling... Annabeth and Leo had both described a cold feeling...  
  
“Bacchus is right,” Dor said. “We need to leave-”  
  
 _Too late_ , said a sleepy voice, humming through the fields all around them and resonating in the ground at my feet.  
  
Percy and Jason drew their swords. I stood on the road between them, Dor at my side, the both of us frozen with fear. The power of Gaea was suddenly everywhere. The sunflowers turned to look at us. The wheat bent toward us like a million scythes.  
  
 _Welcome to my party,_ Gaea murmured. Her voice reminded me of corn growing - a crackling, hissing, hot and persistent noise I used to hear at Grandpa Tom’s on those quiet nights in Oklahoma.  
  
 _What did Bacchus say?_ the goddess mocked. _A simple, low-key affair with organic snacks? Yes. For my snacks, I need only two: the blood of a female demigod, and the blood of a male. Piper, Dor, my dears, choose which hero will die with one of you._  
  
“Gaea!” Jason yelled. “Stop hiding in the wheat. Show yourself!”  
  
 _Such bravado,_ Gaea hissed. _But the other one, Percy Jackson, also has appeal. Choose, Piper McLean, Theodora May Castellan, or I will._  
  
My heart raced. Gaea meant to kill me, or Dor. That was no surprise. But what was this about choosing one of the boys? Why would Gaea let either of them go? It had to be a trap.  
  
“You’re insane!” I shouted. “I’m not choosing anything for you!”  
  
Suddenly Jason gasped. He sat up straight in his saddle.  
  
“Jason!” Dor cried. “What’s wrong-?”  
  
He looked down at her, his expression deadly calm. His eyes were no longer blue. They glowed solid gold.  
  
“Percy, help!” I stumbled back from Tempest.  
  
But Percy galloped away from us. He stopped thirty feet down the road and wheeled his pegasus around. He raised his sword and pointed the tip toward Jason.  
  
“One will die,” Percy said, but the voice wasn’t his. It was deep and hollow, like someone whispering from inside the barrel of a cannon.  
  
“I will choose,” Jason answered, in the same hollow voice.  
  
“No!” I yelled.  
  
All around me, the fields crackled and hissed, laughing in Gaea’s voice as Percy and Jason charged at each other, their weapons ready.  
  
If not for the horses, we would’ve died.  
  
Jason and Percy charged each other, but Tempest and Blackjack balked long enough for Dor and I to leap out of the way.  
  
I rolled to the edge of the road and looked back, dazed and horrified, as the boys crossed swords, gold against bronze. Sparks flew. Their blades blurred - strike and parry - and the pavement trembled. The first exchange took only a second, but I couldn’t believe the speed of their sword fighting. The horses pulled away from each other - Tempest thundering in protest, Blackjack flapping his wings.  
  
“Stop it!” Dor yelled.  
  
For a moment, Jason heeded her voice. His golden eyes turned toward us, and Percy charged, slamming his blade into Jason. Thank the gods, Percy turned his sword - maybe on purpose, maybe accidentally - so the flat of it hit Jason’s chest; but the impact was still enough to knock Jason off his mount.  
  
Blackjack cantered away as Tempest reared in confusion. The spirit horse charged into the sunflowers and dissipated into vapor.  
  
Percy struggled to turn his pegasus around.  
  
“Percy!” Piper yelled. “Jason’s your friend. Drop your weapon!”  
  
Percy’s sword arm dipped. Piper might have been able to bring him under control, but unfortunately Jason got to his feet.  
  
Jason roared. A bolt of lightning arced out of the clear blue sky. It ricocheted off his gladius and blasted Percy off his horse.  
  
Blackjack whinnied and fled into the wheat fields. Jason charged at Percy, who was now on his back, his clothes smoking from the lightning blast.  
  
For a horrible moment, I couldn’t find my voice. Gaea seemed to be whispering to me: _You must choose one. Why not let Jason kill him?_  
  
“No!” I screamed. “Jason, stop!”  
  
He froze, his sword six inches from Percy’s face.  
  
Jason turned, the gold light in his eyes flickering uncertainly. “I cannot stop. One must die.”  
  
Something about that voice... it wasn’t Gaea. It wasn’t Jason. Whoever it was spoke haltingly, as if English was its second language.  
  
“Who are you?” Piper demanded.  
  
Jason’s mouth twisted in a gruesome smile. “We are the eidolons. We will live again.”  
  
“Eidolons...? You're ghosts. You're supposed to be dead." My mind was spinning as Dor spoke.  
  
“He must die.” Jason turned his attention back to Percy, but Percy had recovered more than either of them realized. He swept out his leg and knocked Jason off his feet.  
  
Jason’s head hit the asphalt with a nauseating _conk_.  
  
Percy rose.  
  
“Stop it!” I screamed again, but there was no charmspeak in my voice. I was shouting in sheer desperation.  
  
Percy raised Riptide over Jason’s chest.  
  
Panic closed up my throat. I wanted to attack Percy with my dagger, but I knew that wouldn’t help. Whatever was controlling him had all of Percy’s skill. There was no way I could beat him in combat.  
  
I forced myself to focus. I poured all of my anger into my voice. “Eidolon, stop.”  
  
Percy froze.  
  
“Face me,” I ordered.  
  
The son of the sea god turned. His eyes were gold instead of green, his face pale and cruel, not at all like Percy’s.  
  
“You have not chosen,” he said. “So this one will die.”  
  
“You’re a spirit from the Underworld,” I guessed. “You’re possessing Percy Jackson. Is that it?”  
  
Percy sneered. “I will live again in this body. The Earth Mother has promised. I will go where I please, control whom I wish.”  
  
A wave of cold washed over me. “Leo... that’s what happened to Leo. He was being controlled by an eidolon.”  
  
The thing in Percy’s form laughed without humor. “Too late you realize. You can trust no one.”  
  
Jason still wasn’t moving. Dor was inching towards Jason, but stopped as the eidolon glared at her.  
  
Behind him, something rustled in the wheat. I saw the tip of a black wing, and Percy began to turn toward the sound.  
  
“Ignore it!” I yelped. “Look at me.”  
  
Percy obeyed. “You cannot stop me. I will kill Jason Grace.”  
  
Behind him, Blackjack emerged from the wheat field, moving with surprising stealth for such a large animal.  
  
“You won’t kill him,” I ordered. But I wasn’t looking at Percy. I locked eyes with the pegasus, pouring all my power into my words and hoping Blackjack would understand. “You will knock him out.”  
  
The charmspeak washed over Percy. He shifted his weight indecisively. “I... will knock him out?”  
  
“Oh, sorry.” Piper smiled. “I wasn’t talking to you.”  
  
Blackjack reared and brought his hoof down on Percy’s head.  
  
Percy crumpled to the pavement next to Jason.  
  
“Oh, gods!” I ran to the boys. “Blackjack, you didn’t kill him, did you?”  
  
The pegasus snorted. I couldn’t speak Horse, but I thought he might have said: _Please. I know my own strength._  
  
Tempest was nowhere to be seen. The lightning steed had apparently returned to wherever storm spirits live on clear days.  
  
Dor checked on Jason while I examined Percy’s head. I didn’t see any blood, but a large knot was forming where the horse had kicked him. “We have to get them both back to the ship,” I told Blackjack. I turned to Dor. "You got enough strength to shadow-travel ahead? Get the nectar ready."  
  
The pegasus bobbed his head in agreement and Dor nodded. Blackjack knelt to the ground, so that we could drape Percy and Jason over his back. After a lot of hard work (unconscious boys were heavy), we got them reasonably secured, and I climbed onto Blackjack’s back myself, and we took off for the ship.  
  
The others were a little surprised when I came back on a pegasus with two unconscious demigods. While Frank and Hazel tended to Blackjack, Annabeth and Leo helped get me and the boys to the sickbay, where Dor was gathering supplies.  
  
“At this rate, we’re going to run out of ambrosia,” Coach Hedge grumbled as he tended their wounds. “How come I never get invited on these violent trips?”  
  
I sat at Dor's side. I myself felt fine after a swig of nectar and some water, but I was still worried about the boys.  
  
“Leo,” Dor said, “are we ready to sail?”  
  
“Yeah, but-”  
  
“Set course for Atlanta. I’ll explain later.”  
  
“But... okay.” He hurried off.  
  
Annabeth didn’t argue with her either. She was too busy examining the horseshoe-shaped dent on the back of Percy’s head.  
  
“What hit him?” she demanded.  
  
“Blackjack,” I said.  
  
“What?”  
  
I tried to explain while Coach Hedge applied some healing paste to the boys’ heads. I’d never been impressed with Hedge’s nursing abilities before, but he must have done something right. Either that, or the spirits that possessed the boys had also made them extra resilient. They both groaned and opened their eyes.  
  
Within a few minutes, Jason and Percy were sitting up in their berths and able to talk in complete sentences. Both had fuzzy memories of what had happened. When I described their duel on the highway, Jason winced.  
  
“Knocked out twice in two days,” he muttered. “Some demigod.” He glanced sheepishly at Percy. “Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to blast you.”  
  
Percy’s shirt was peppered with burn holes. His hair was even more disheveled than normal. Despite that, he managed a weak laugh. “Not the first time. Your big sister got me good once at camp.” I smiled a little at the mention of Thalia, and Dor winked at me knowingly.  
  
“Yeah, but... I could have killed you.”  
  
“Or I could have killed you,” Percy said.  
  
Jason shrugged. “If there’d been an ocean in Kansas, maybe.”  
  
“I don’t need an ocean-”  
  
“Boys,” Annabeth interrupted, “I’m sure you both would’ve been wonderful at killing each other. But right now, you need some rest.”  
  
“Food first,” Percy said. “Please? And we really need to talk. Bacchus said some things that don’t-”  
  
“Bacchus?” Annabeth raised her hand. “Okay, fine. We need to talk. Mess hall. Ten minutes. I’ll tell the others. And please, Percy... change your clothes. You smell like you’ve been run over by an electric horse.”  
  
Leo gave the helm to Coach Hedge again, after making the satyr promise he would not steer them to the nearest military base “for fun.”  
  
We gathered around the dining table, and I explained what had happened at TOPEKA 32 - our conversation with Bacchus, the trap sprung by Gaea, the eidolons that had possessed the boys.  
  
“Of course!” Hazel slapped the table, which startled Frank so much, he dropped his burrito. “That’s what happened to Leo too.”

“So it wasn’t my fault.” Leo exhaled. “I didn’t start World War Three. I just got possessed by an evil spirit. That’s a relief!”  
  
“But the Romans don’t know that,” Annabeth said. “And why would they take our word for it?”  
  
“We could contact Reyna,” Jason suggested. “She would believe us.”  
  
Hearing the way Jason said her name, like it was a lifeline to his past, I glanced over at Dor, who looked down and avoided my gaze.  
  
Jason turned to me with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. “You could convince her, Pipes. I know you could.”  
  
I tried not to wince as Annabeth's gaze turned to Dor. Hazel actually did wince.  
  
“I could try,” I said halfheartedly. “But Octavian is the one we have to worry about. In my dagger blade, I saw him taking control of the Roman crowd. I’m not sure Reyna can stop him.”  
  
Jason’s expression darkened. I didn’t get any pleasure from bursting his bubble, but the other Romans - Hazel and Frank - nodded in agreement.  
  
“She’s right,” Frank said. “This afternoon when we were scouting, we saw eagles again. They were a long way off, but closing fast. Octavian is on the warpath.”  
  
Hazel grimaced. “This is exactly the sort of opportunity Octavian has always wanted. He’ll try to seize power. If Reyna objects, he’ll say she’s soft on the Greeks. As for those eagles... It’s like they could smell us.”  
  
“They can,” Jason said. “Roman eagles can hunt demigods by their magical scent even better than monsters can. This ship might conceal us somewhat, but not completely - not from them.”  
  
Leo drummed his fingers. “Great. I should have installed a smoke screen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time.”  
  
Hazel frowned. “What is a chicken nugget?”  
  
“Oh, man...” Leo shook his head in amazement. “That’s right. You’ve missed the last like, seventy years. Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget-”  
  
“Doesn’t matter,” Annabeth interrupted. “The point is, we’ll have a hard time explaining the truth to the Romans. Even if they believe us-”  
  
“You’re right.” Jason leaned forward. “We should just keep going. Once we’re over the Atlantic, we’ll be safe - at least from the legion.”  
  
He sounded so depressed, I didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or for Dor. “How can you be sure?” I asked. “Why wouldn’t they follow us?”  
  
He shook his head. “You heard Reyna talking about the ancient lands. They’re much too dangerous. Roman demigods have been forbidden to go there for generations. Even Octavian couldn’t get around that rule.”  
  
Frank swallowed a bite of burrito like it had turned to cardboard in his mouth. “So, if we go there...”  
  
“We’ll be outlaws as well as traitors,” Jason confirmed. “Any Roman demigod would have the right to kill us on sight. But I wouldn’t worry about that. If we get across the Atlantic, they’ll give up on chasing us. They’ll assume that we’ll die in the Mediterranean - the Mare Nostrum.”  
  
Percy pointed his pizza slice at Jason. “You, sir, are a ray of sunshine.”  
  
Jason didn’t argue. The other demigods stared at their plates, except for Percy, who continued to enjoy his pizza. Where he put all that food, I didn’t know. The guy could eat like a satyr.  
  
“So let’s plan ahead,” Percy suggested, “and make sure we don’t die. Mr. D - Bacchus - Ugh, do I have to call him Mr. B now? Anyway, he mentioned the twins in Ella’s prophecy. Two giants. Otis and, uh, something that started with an F?”  
  
“Ephialtes,” Jason said.  
  
“Twin giants, like Piper saw in her blade...” Annabeth ran her finger along the rim of her cup. “I remember a story about twin giants. They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling up a bunch of mountains.”  
  
Frank nearly choked. “Well, that’s great. Giants who can use mountains like building blocks. And you say Bacchus killed these guys with a pinecone on a stick?”  
  
“Something like that,” Percy said. “I don’t think we should count on his help this time. He wanted a tribute, and he made it pretty clear it would be a tribute we couldn’t handle.”  
  
Silence fell around the table. I could hear Coach Hedge above deck singing “Blow the Man Down,” except he didn’t know the lyrics, so he mostly sang, “Blah-blah-hum-de-dum-dum.”  
  
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Bacchus was meant to help us. The giant twins were in Rome. They were keeping something we needed - something in that bronze jar. Whatever it was, I got the feeling it held the answer to sealing the Doors of Death - the key to endless death. I also felt sure we could never defeat the giants without Bacchus’s help. And if we couldn’t do that in five days, Rome would be destroyed, and Hazel’s brother, Nico, would die.  
  
On the other hand, if the vision of Bacchus offering me a silver goblet was false, maybe the other visions didn’t have to come true either - especially the one of me, Percy, and Jason drowning. Maybe that was just symbolic.  
  
 _The blood of a female demigod_ , Gaea had said, _and the blood of a male. Piper, my dear, choose which hero will die with you or Dor._  
  
“She wants two of us,” I murmured.  
  
Everyone turned to look at me.  
  
I hated being the center of attention. Maybe that was strange for a child of Aphrodite, but I’d watched her dad, the movie star, deal with fame for years. I remembered when Aphrodite had claimed me at the bonfire in front of the entire camp, zapping her with a magic beauty-queen makeover. That had been the most embarrassing moment of my life. Even here, with only seven other demigods, I felt exposed.  
  
 _They’re my friends_ , I told myself. _It’s okay._  
  
But I had a strange feeling... as if more than seven sets of eyes were watching me.  
  
“Today on the highway,” I said, “Gaea told me that she needed the blood of only two demigods - one female, one male. She-she asked me to choose which boy would die with me or Dor.”  
  
Dor squeezed my hand, her other in Jason's. “But neither of us died. You saved us.”  
  
“I know. It’s just... Why would she want that?”  
  
Leo whistled softly. “Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione? She talked about spilling Jason’s blood, how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power.”  
  
“Oh...” Percy set down his third pizza slice. He leaned back and stared at nothing, as if the horse kick to his head had just now registered.  
  
“Percy?” Annabeth gripped his arm.  
  
“Oh, bad,” he muttered. “Bad. Bad.” He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. “You guys remember Polybotes?”  
  
“The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter,” Hazel said. “The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember.”  
  
“I had a dream,” Percy said, “when we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said -  he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: ‘I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!’”  
  
I wondered if the room’s temperature controls were broken, because suddenly I couldn’t stop shaking. It was the same way I’d felt on the highway outside Topeka. “You think the giants would use our blood... the blood of two of us-”  
  
“I don’t know,” Percy said. “But until we figure it out, I suggest we all try to avoid getting captured.”  
  
Jason grunted. “That I agree with.”  
  
“But how do we figure it out?” Hazel asked. “The Mark of Athena, the twins, Ella’s prophecy... how does it all fit together?”  
  
Annabeth pressed her hands against the edge of the table. “Piper, you told Leo to set our course for Atlanta.”  
  
“Right,” Piper said. “Bacchus told us we should seek out... what was his name?”  
  
“Phorcys,” Percy said.  
  
Annabeth looked surprised, like she wasn’t used to her boyfriend having the answers. “You know him?”  
  
Percy shrugged. “I didn’t recognize the name at first. Then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god from before my dad’s time. Never met him, but supposedly he’s a son of Gaea. I still don’t understand what a sea god would be doing in Atlanta.”  
  
Leo snorted. “What’s a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird. Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something else goes wrong.”  
  
“Don’t even say that,” Annabeth muttered. “It’s getting late. We should all get some sleep.”  
  
“Wait,” I said.  
  
Once more, everyone looked at me.  
  
I was rapidly losing her courage, wondering if my instincts were wrong, but I forced myself to speak.  
  
“There’s one last thing,” she said. “The eidolons - the possessing spirits. They’re still here, in this room.”


	37. Chapter 37

**THEODORA**

Silence fell upon the table. I felt the fear of everyone in the room spike, before finally Hazel exhaled. “Piper is right.”  
  
“How can you be sure?” Annabeth asked.  
  
“I’ve met eidolons,” Hazel said. “In the Underworld, when I was... you know.”  
  
Dead.  
  
I'd nearly forgotten that Hazel was a second-timer. In her own way, Hazel too was a ghost reborn.  
  
“So...” Frank rubbed his hand across his buzz-cut hair as if some ghosts might have invaded his scalp. “You think these things are lurking on the ship, or-”  
  
“Possibly lurking inside some of us,” Piper said. “We don’t know.”  
  
Jason clenched his free fist. “If that’s true-”

"It is true. I can't believe I didn't sense more presences before now, but the good news is that they're getting nervous." I nodded to Piper, encouraging.  
  
“We have to take steps,” Piper said. “I think I can do this - Dor, help me out.”

“Do what?” Percy asked. I knew Piper wanted to do something similar to what we did to Gaia's cage back on our quest - command the eidolons, playing in on their fears.  
  
“Just listen, okay?” Piper took a deep breath. “Everybody listen.”  
  
Piper met our eyes, one person at a time.  
  
“Eidolons,” she said, using her charmspeak, “raise your hands.”  
  
There was tense silence.  
  
Leo laughed nervously. “Did you really think that was going to-?”  
  
His voice died. His face went slack. He raised his hand.  
  
Jason and Percy did the same. Their eyes had turned glassy and gold. Hazel caught her breath. Next to Leo, Frank scrambled out of his chair and put his back against the wall as I jerked my hand back from Jason's.

“Oh, gods.” Annabeth looked at Piper imploringly. “Can you cure them?”

Piper focused on Leo, probably because he was the least intimidating.

“Are there more of you on this ship?” she asked.

“No,” Leo said in a hollow voice. “The Earth Mother sent three. The strongest, the best. We will live again.”

“Not here, you won’t,” I growled. “Gaia doesn't care for you; once you've done your part of her plan, she'll just send you right back to Tartarus.”

 

"All three of you, listen carefully," Piper spoke.

 

Jason and Percy turned toward her. Those gold eyes were unnerving, but seeing all three boys like that fueled Piper’s anger.

  
“You will leave those bodies,” she commanded, "Or we will make your ending worse than Gaia would."

“No,” Percy said.

Leo let out a soft hiss. “We must live.”

Frank fumbled for his bow. “Mars Almighty, that’s creepy! Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!”

Leo turned toward him. “You cannot command us, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment.”

 

I wasn’t sure what that meant, but Frank staggered like he’d been punched in the gut, and terror waved off of him. He drew an arrow, his hands shaking. “I-I’ve faced down worse things than you. If you want a fight-”

“Frank, don’t.” Hazel rose. I held out my hand towards Frank, familiar grey wisps curling around my fingers lightly as I took away some of his fear; just enough to make him more rational. 

Next to me, Jason drew his sword.

“Stop!” Piper ordered, but her voice quavered.

“Listen to Piper.” Hazel pointed at Jason’s sword. The gold blade seemed to grow heavy in his hand. It clunked to the table and Jason sank back into his chair.

Percy growled in a very un-Percy-like way. “Daughter of Pluto, you may control gems and metals. You do not control the dead.”

Annabeth reached toward him as if to restrain him, but Hazel waved her off.

“Listen, eidolons,” Hazel said sternly, “you do not belong here. I may not command you, but they do. Obey them.”

 

She turned toward us, her expression clear: _Try again. You can do this._

I took a deep breath and felt grey energy radiating off of my fingers. I turned to Jason and my anger went through the roof, fueling my powers.

 

"You will go back to where you belong, or we will make sure your fate is worse than the underworld."

 

“You _will_ leave those bodies,” Piper repeated as soon as I was finished.

Jason’s face tightened. His forehead beaded with sweat. “We- we will leave these bodies.”

“You will vow on the River Styx never to return to this ship,” Piper continued, now looking at Percy, “and never to possess any member of this crew.”

Leo and Percy both hissed in protest.

“You will promise on the River Styx,” Piper insisted.

A moment of tension - I could feel their wills fighting against ours, fighting for their chance at a life. Then all three eidolons spoke in unison: “We promise on the River Styx.”

“You are dead,” I said.

“We are dead,” they agreed.

“Now, leave,” Piper commanded

All three boys slumped forward. Percy fell face-first into his pizza.

“Percy!” Annabeth grabbed him.

Hazel and I caught Jason’s arms as he slipped out of his chair.

Leo wasn’t so lucky. He fell toward Frank, who made no attempt to intercept him. Leo hit the floor.

“Ow!” he groaned.

“Are you all right?” Hazel asked.

Leo pulled himself up. He had a piece of spaghetti in the shape of a 3 stuck to his forehead. “Did it work?”

“It worked,” Piper said. “I don’t think they’ll be back.”

 

Jason blinked. “Does that mean I can stop getting head injuries now?”

I laughed, exhaling all my nervousness. “Come on, Sparky. Let’s get you some fresh air.”

Jason and I walked back and forth along the deck. Jason was still wobbly, so I draped his arm over my shoulder for support.

Leo stood at the helm, conferring with Festus through the intercom; he knew from experience to give us some space. Since the satellite TV was up again, Coach Hedge was in his cabin happily catching up on his mixed martial arts cage matches. Percy’s pegasus Blackjack had flown off somewhere. The other demigods were settling in for the night.

The Argo II raced east, cruising several hundred feet above the ground. Below them small towns passed by like lit-up islands in a dark sea of prairie.

I remembered last winter, flying Festus the dragon over the city of Quebec. This view was as good, if not better simply by Jason's arm around me.

The night was warm. The ship sailed along more smoothly than a dragon. Best of all, we were flying away from Camp Jupiter as fast as they possibly could. No matter how dangerous the ancient lands were, I couldn’t wait to get there. I hoped Jason was right that the Romans wouldn’t follow them across the Atlantic.

  
Jason stopped amidships and leaned against the rail. The moonlight turned his blond hair silver.

“Thanks, Theo,” he said. “You saved me again.”

He put his arm around my waist. I sighed, leaning into his side.

 

"Talk to me."

 

"How did you know something was bothering me?"

 

"Because I know you." There goes my impression that I had a decent pokerface. I took a shaky breath

 

"In the field today, I felt so helpless. If Piper hadn't been there, either my boyfriend or my second oldest friend would've been nothing but a memory."

 

"The same goes for you. I could feel you playing into my fears in my head. I couldn't have kept up that struggle for power over the eidolon for Piper to knock us out if it hadn't been for you. Percy and I _would_ have fought to the death. You saved us both."

“But if two of our crew really have to die, a boy and a girl-”

 

“I don’t accept that. We’re going to stop Gaea. All eight of us are going to come back alive. I promise you.”

I wished that he hadn’t promised. The word only reminded me of the Prophecy of Eight: _an oath to keep with a final breath._

“The legend that Annabeth mentioned,” I finally said, “about the Mark of Athena... why didn’t you want to talk about it?”

“Theo, I don’t know what’s true and what’s not. That legend... it could be really dangerous.”

“For who?”

“All of us,” he said grimly. “The story goes that the Romans stole something important from the Greeks, back in ancient times, when the Romans conquered the Greeks’ cities.”

I waited, but Jason seemed lost in thought.

“What did they steal?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not sure anyone in the legion has ever known. But according to the story, this thing was taken away to Rome and hidden there. The children of Athena, Greek demigods, have hated us ever since. They’ve always stirred up their brethren against the Romans. Like I said, I don’t know how much of that is true-”

“But why not just tell Annabeth?” I asked. “She’s not going to suddenly hate you.”

He seemed to have trouble focusing on me. “I hope not. But the legend says that the children of Athena have been searching for this thing for millennia. Every generation, a few are chosen by the goddess to find it. Apparently, they’re led to Rome by some sign... the Mark of Athena.”

“If Annabeth is one of those searchers.. we should help her.”

Jason hesitated. “Maybe. When we get closer to Rome, I’ll tell her what little I know. Honest. But the story, at least the way I heard it-it claims that if the Greeks ever found what was stolen, they’d never forgive us. They’d destroy the legion and Rome, once and for all. After what Nemesis told Leo, about Rome’s being destroyed five days from now...”

I studied Jason’s face. He was, without a doubt, the bravest person I’d ever known, but I knew he was afraid. This legend - the idea that it might tear apart their group and level a city - absolutely terrified him.

“I’m sorry, by the way,” Jason said.

“Sorry for what? It was the eidolon who attacked-”

“Not about that.” The little scar on Jason’s upper lip seemed to glow white in the moonlight. I’d always loved that scar. The imperfection made his face much more interesting.

“I was stupid to ask Piper to contact Reyna,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Oh. Really, it’s okay.”

“It’s just... I never felt that way toward either of them,” Jason said, “so I didn’t think about its making you uncomfortable. You’ve got nothing to worry about, Theo.”

“I wanted to hate Reyna,” I admitted. “I was so afraid you’d go back to Camp Jupiter.”  
  
Jason looked surprised. “That would never happen. Not unless you came with me. I promise.”  
  
I held his hand. I managed a smile, but I was thinking: _Another promise. An oath to keep with a final breath._  
  
That night, when I was asleep, I dreamt I stood in a vast gloomy space like an underground parking garage. Rows of stone pillars marched off in every direction, holding up the ceiling about twenty feet above. Freestanding braziers cast a dim red glow over the floor.  
  
I couldn’t see very far in the shadows, but hanging from the ceiling were pulley systems, sandbags, and rows of dark theater lights. Piled around the chamber, wooden crates were labeled PROPS, WEAPONS, and COSTUMES. One read: ASSORTED ROCKET LAUNCHERS.

I heard machinery creaking in the darkness, huge gears turning, and water rushing through pipes.

Then I saw the giant…or at least I guessed that he was a giant.

He was about twelve feet tall - a respectable height for a Cyclops, but only half as tall as other giants we had dealt with. He also looked more human than a typical giant, without the dragon-like legs of his larger kin. Nevertheless, his long purple hair was braided in a ponytail of dreadlocks, woven with gold and silver coins, which struck me as a giantish hairstyle. He had a ten-foot spear strapped to his back - a giantish weapon.

 

He wore the largest black turtleneck I had ever seen, black pants, and black leather shoes with points so long and curly, they might have been jester slippers. He paced back and forth in front of a raised platform, examining a bronze jar about the size of Percy.

“No, no, no,” the giant muttered to himself. “Where’s the splash? Where’s the value?” He yelled into the darkness, “Otis!”

I heard something shuffling in the distance. Another giant appeared out of the gloom. He wore exactly the same black outfit, right down to the curly shoes. The only difference between the two giants was that the second one’s hair was green rather than purple.

The first giant cursed. “Otis, why do you do this to me every day? I told you I was wearing the black turtleneck today. You could wear anything but the black turtleneck!”

Otis blinked as if he’d just woken up. “I thought you were wearing the yellow toga today.”

“That was yesterday! When you showed up in the yellow toga!”

“Oh. Right. Sorry, Ephie.”

His brother snarled. They had to be twins, because their faces were identically ugly.

“And don’t call me Ephie,” Ephie demanded. “Call me Ephialtes. That’s my name. Or you can use my stage name: The BIG F!”

 

Otis grimaced. “I’m still not sure about that stage name.”

“Nonsense! It’s perfect. Now, how are the preparations coming along?”

“Fine.” Otis didn’t sound very enthusiastic. “The man-eating tigers, the spinning blades... But I still think a few ballerinas would be nice.”

“No ballerinas!” Ephialtes snapped. “And this thing.” He waved at the bronze jar in disgust. “What does it do? It’s not exciting.”

“But that’s the whole point of the show. He dies unless the others rescue him. And if they arrive on schedule-”

 

“Oh, they’d better!” Ephialtes said. “July First, the Kalends of July, sacred to Juno. That’s when Mother wants to destroy those stupid demigods and really rub it in Juno’s face. Besides, I’m not paying overtime for those gladiator ghosts!”

“Well, then, they all die,” Otis said, “and we start the destruction of Rome. Just like Mother wants. It’ll be perfect. The crowd will love it. Roman ghosts adore this sort of thing.”

Ephialtes looked unconvinced. “But the jar just stands there. Couldn’t we suspend it above a fire, or dissolve it in a pool of acid or something?”

“We need him alive for a few more days,” Otis reminded his brother. “Otherwise, the eight won’t take the bait and rush to save him.”

“Hmm. I suppose. I’d still like a little more screaming. This slow death is boring. Ah, well, what about our talented friend? Is she ready to receive her visitor?”

Otis made a sour face. “I really don’t like talking to her. She makes me nervous.”

“But is she ready?”

“Yes,” Otis said reluctantly. “She’s been ready for centuries. No one will be removing that statue.”

“Excellent.” Ephialtes rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “This is our big chance, my brother.”

 

“That’s what you said about our last stunt,” Otis mumbled. “I was hanging in that block of ice suspended over the River Lethe for six months, and we didn’t even get any media attention.”

“This is different!” Ephialtes insisted. “We will set a new standard for entertainment! If Mother is pleased, we can write our own ticket to fame and fortune!”

“If you say so,” Otis sighed. “Though I still think those ballerina costumes from Swan Lake would look lovely-”

“No ballet!”

“Sorry.”

“Come,” Ephialtes said. “Let’s examine the tigers. I want to be sure they are hungry!”

The giants lumbered off into the gloom, and I turned toward the jar.

_I need to see inside,_  I thought.

I willed my dream forward, right to the surface of the jar. Then I passed through.

The air in the jar smelled of stale breath and tarnished metal. The only light came from the dim purple glow of a dark sword, its Stygian iron blade set against one side of the container. Huddled next to it was a dejected-looking boy in tattered jeans, a black shirt, and an old aviator jacket. On his right hand, a silver skull ring glittered.

 

“Nico,” I breathed. But the son of Hades couldn’t hear me.

The container was completely sealed. The air was turning poisonous. Nico’s eyes were closed, his breathing shallow. He appeared to be meditating. His face was pale, and thinner than I remembered, even though I'd last seen him about two or three ago.

On the inner wall of the jar, it looked as though Nico had scratched three hash marks with his sword - maybe it had been three days that he’d been imprisoned?

It didn’t seem possible he could have survived so long without suffocating. Even in a dream, I was already starting to feel panicky, struggling to get enough oxygen.

Then I noticed something between Nico’s feet - a small collection of glistening objects no bigger than baby teeth.

_Seeds_ , I realized. _Pomegranate seeds_. Three had been eaten and spit out. Five were still encased in dark red pulp.

“ _Kleintje_ ,” I murmured, “where is this place? We’ll save you...”

 

I awoke by Jason shaking my shoulders.

 

"Theo, wake up, we're meeting in the mess hall. Percy and Annabeth were missing for a little bit, but they were in the stables."

 

"Why didn't you wake me?"

 

"I wanted to let you sleep. I know you haven't been getting enough rest lately..." Gods, he's sweet.

 

"Okay. Let me get dressed, I'll be there in five."

 

When everyone finally gathered in the mess hall, Leo couldn’t stop grinning and muttering, “Classic. Classic.” Only Hazel seemed scandalized, maybe because she was from the 1940s. She kept fanning her face and wouldn’t meet Percy’s eyes.

Naturally, Coach Hedge went ballistic; but I found it hard to take the satyr seriously since he was barely five feet tall.

 

“Never in my life!” Coach bellowed, waving his bat and knocking over a plate of apples. “Against the rules! Irresponsible!”

“Coach,” Annabeth said, “it was an accident. We were talking, and we fell asleep.”

“Besides,” Percy said, “you’re starting to sound like Terminus.”

Hedge narrowed his eyes. “Is that an insult, Jackson? ’Cause I’ll-I’ll terminus you, buddy!”

Percy looked like he was trying not to laugh. “It won’t happen again, Coach. I promise. Now, don’t we have other things to discuss?”

 

Hedge fumed. “Fine! But I’m watching you, Jackson. And you, Annabeth Chase, I thought you had more sense-”

Jason cleared his throat. “So grab some food, everybody. Let’s get started.”

The meeting was like a war council with donuts. Then again, back at Camp Half-Blood they used to have their most serious discussions around the Ping-Pong table in the rec room with crackers and Cheez Whiz, so I felt right at home.

 

I told them about my dream - the twin giants planning a reception for them in an underground parking lot with rocket launchers; Nico di Angelo trapped in a bronze jar, slowly dying from asphyxiation with pomegranate seeds at his feet.

Hazel choked back a sob. “Nico... Oh, gods. The seeds.”

“You know what they are?” I asked.

Hazel nodded. “He showed them to me once. They’re from our stepmother’s garden.”

“Your step... oh,” Percy said. “You mean Persephone.”

“The seeds are a last-resort food,” Hazel said. I could tell she was nervous, even without my powers, because all the silverware on the table was starting to move toward her. “Only children of Hades can eat them. Nico always kept some in case he got stuck somewhere. But if he’s really imprisoned-”

 

“The giants are trying to lure us,” Annabeth said. “They’re assuming we’ll try to rescue him.”

“Well, they’re right!” Hazel looked around the table, her confidence apparently crumbling. “Won’t we?”

“Yes!” Coach Hedge yelled with a mouthful of napkins. “It’ll involve fighting, right?”

“Hazel, of course we’ll help him,” Frank said. “But how long do we have before... uh, I mean, how long can Nico hold out?”

“One seed a day,” Hazel said miserably. “That’s if he puts himself in a death trance.”

  
“A death trance?” Annabeth scowled. “That doesn’t sound fun.”

 

“It keeps him from consuming all his air,” I said, recognizing the story - Nico told me about this a while back. “Like hibernation, or a coma. One seed can sustain him one day, barely.”

“And he has five seeds left,” Percy said. “That’s five days, including today. The giants must have planned it that way, so we’d have to arrive by July first. Assuming Nico is hidden somewhere in Rome-”

“That’s not much time,” Piper summed up. She put one hand on Hazel’s shoulder, and one on mine. “We’ll find him. At least we know what the lines of the prophecy mean now. ‘Twins snuff out the angel’s breath, who holds the key to endless death.’ Your brother’s last name: di Angelo. Angelo is Italian for ‘angel.’”

“Oh, gods,” Hazel muttered. “Nico...”

Percy stared at his jelly donut. He had a rocky history with Nico di Angelo. The guy had once tricked him into visiting Hades’s palace, and Percy had ended up in a cell. But Nico's a good guy. He certainly didn’t deserve slow suffocation in a bronze jar, and Percy knew that. He had to.

  
“We’ll rescue him,” he promised us. “We have to. The prophecy says he holds the key to endless death.”

“That’s right,” Piper said encouragingly. “Hazel, your brother went searching for the Doors of Death in the Underworld, right? He must’ve found them.”

 

“He can tell us where the doors are,” Percy said, “and how to close them.”

I took a deep breath. “Yes. Good.”

“Uh...” Leo shifted in his chair. “One thing. The giants are expecting us to do this, right? So we’re walking into a trap?”

Hazel looked at Leo like he’d made a rude gesture. “We have no choice!”

“Don’t get me wrong, Hazel. It’s just that your brother, Nico... he knew about both camps, right?”

“Well, yes,” Hazel said.

“He’s been going back and forth,” Leo said, “and he didn’t tell either side.”

Jason sat forward, his expression grim. “You’re wondering if we can trust the guy. So am I.”

Hazel shot to her feet as I yanked my hand out of Jason's. “I don’t believe this. Nico is basically my little brother!"

 

"He brought me back from the Underworld, and you don’t want to help him?” Hazel added.

 

Frank put his hand on her shoulder. “Nobody’s saying that.” He glared at Leo. “Nobody had better be saying that.”

Leo blinked. “Look, guys. All I mean is-”

“Hazel, Theo,” Jason said. “Leo is raising a fair point. I remember Nico from Camp Jupiter. Now I find out he also visited Camp Half-Blood. That does strike me as... well, a little shady. Do we really know where his loyalties lie? We just have to be careful.”

Hazel’s arms shook. A silver platter zoomed toward her and hit the wall to her left, splattering scrambled eggs. “You... the great Jason Grace... the praetor I looked up to. You were supposed to be so fair, such a good leader. And now you...” Hazel stomped her foot and stormed out of the mess hall.

“Hazel!” Leo called after her. “Ah, jeez. I should-”

“You’ve done enough,” I growled, before following Hazel out.


End file.
